Cruel to be Kind
by TsukiakariNoMichi
Summary: What if Ichigo learned about Shinigami at a younger age and started training at that age? He more dedicated to protecting his friends, but years of fighting changes him. To be kind, you must be prepared to be cold, and if need be, cruel. No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Cruel to be Kind

Hello people, this is my second story, a "what-if" story revolving around Ichigo Kurosaki. In this story, Ichigo's nature will be different from his nature in the official manga storyline. In here, Aizen's well kept, more-than-100-year-old secrets are little compared to the secrets that Ichigo has to keep from his important friends themselves, the secrets that will eventually culminate in the fall of the self-proclaimed "God" himself.

There will be one OC in this story, a silvered hair, spiritually aware girl around Ichigo's age called Yin. Some of you might already know a girl of this description from the anime series _Darker than BLACK_. It is the same character, I couldn't resist bringing her in, but that's where the crossover ends. No further characters crossing over from DtB. For those who don't know her, I shall provide a background to Yin in the official manga storylines' perspective in the chapter where she first appears, as her personality in this story will be the same as her personality in DtB.

As the title implies, Ichigo, in this story, holds true to his motives in the manga: to protect his friends and those important to him, but he goes about it her in a different manner, because he has been trained by his father to do so. The training is a secret, a secret kept from not just enemies, but also friends. There is no romance in this story, but a relationship between Ichigo and a certain character that might not necessarily be romance, but very deep. More details about this later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Darker than BLACK. This is the only disclaimer I'll be doing for this entire story.

Story Proper

"Mom! Mom!" came the cries of a young distressed boy at a river bank, who was pushing a woman's body desperately, and yet, gently. The woman was beautiful, with a kind face, but one that showed pain during her last moments alive. The boy pushing her was young, not even past ten years of age. He had a distressed face, one that used to hold a bright, goofy grin, and a more striking feature of his, was his bright orange hair. Passers-by paused to look at him, shaking their heads sadly, reflecting about the boy's great loss at such a young age. One person immediately called the police and an ambulance. Another man stepped forward and looked kindly at the boy.

"Hello child, what's your name?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki sir"

"I see Kurosaki-kun. Could you please give me your father's phone number? I'll call him and you can speak to him. Or would you like me to do it instead?"

Ichigo sniffed, at a loss for words. The man looked at him sadly and offered to make the call himself, to which Ichigo nodded with a slight look of gratitude in his eyes.

"Hello, is this Mr Kurosaki? My name is James Lee, and I'm at the Karakura River now. I regret to tell you that something terrible has happened. It was an accident involving your wife and son. The police and an ambulance have been called. Your son is alright…I wish I could say the say the same for your wife…but I'm sorry I can't. Please come here soon sir. I'll watch your son until you reach here."

With that, the man who had helped Ichigo, James Lee waited with Ichigo, sitting in the rain in silence, waiting for the ambulance and Ichigo's anxious, tearful father, who came soon. When Isshin came to the scene, at the same time as the ambulance, he was shocked, when he detected traces of hollow reiatsu at the spot where Masaki's body had lain. Immediately a wave of regret washed over him.

_If only I had reached this place faster…I could have protected her-the love of my life and the mother of my children, dead because of my powerlessness… _

He immediately went over to Lee and Ichigo and embraced his son, offering what words of comfort he could to the grieving boy. After a few moments, he stood up, greeted Lee and thanked him for being kind and making the call. Lee offered a few words of regret to Isshin politely, and then left, politely declining Isshin's offers to compensate him for spending time with his son to protect him in Isshin's absence. After that, Isshin went back to Ichigo.

Ichigo: She'll live won't she?

Isshin knew how Masaki had died, and also the reason why. He had protected his spiritually aware son from the true ways of the world since his birth nine years ago, but with the current circumstances, the truth would have to be told. He would wait a while more for his girls. He had left them with a friend instead of bringing them to the river, hoping to postpone the pain they would feel, even if just for a short while. The burden of knowing the spiritual world could wait a few more years for them.

Isshin: I won't lie to you Ichigo, your mother is no longer alive. It will be painful, but we will have to go on living, day after day, without her care and precious smile.

Ichigo: It's…It's my fault isn't it?

Isshin: Don't say that Ichigo, it's not your fault! If anything, it's mine, for not getting here in time!

Not wishing for Ichigo to continue blaming himself for Masaki's death, he decided to leave things there to the coroner; he decided to go home with Ichigo, to inform Karin and Yuzu.

Back at the Kurosakis' home

After a painful session with his whole family, Isshin had explained what had happened. He had given them the whole truth, leaving out only the true cause of death. Later, he tucked the two girls into bed, then took Ichigo with him to the basement. There, he pushed away a wardrobe, revealing a hidden room. He opened the door after looking behind his back to make sure that no one else was there besides Ichigo, and then led Ichigo inside.

Ichigo: hey dad, what is this place? How come we never heard of it?

They had just stepped into a very large underground room which had walls that were coated in what seemed like silver. The room was big enough to fit several building levels inside and was reasonably well lit.

Isshin: Ichigo…I brought you here to tell you the full details of your mother's death. I really don't want to tell your sisters about this, so I brought you here alone. But before I begin, I'll give you a choice. What I'm about to tell you will be difficult, so you can refuse to know this if you want.

Ichigo: No, I want to know the truth behind mom's death. I at first blamed myself for this, but I've now realized that this won't do any good for me. I need to know this, so I can protect my loved ones in the future. Not knowing might remove a burden from my back…but I'll be a useless kid who can only watch and regret.

Isshin: Well spoken, Ichigo, I'm proud of you. Now, let's begin. You can see spirits can't you? Now, you must know that every human being has a soul inside their bodies. If a human dies, the soul gets forced out of the body. A chain usually connects the soul to the body and keeps it within the body. Upon death this chain breaks, leaving souls with a broken chain protruding from their chests. It is the job of a Shinigami to perform a ritual called Soul Burial, or _Konso_, on the souls-a process that will send them to the afterlife, Soul Society.

Ichigo: Shinigami? Soul Society? What are they like?

Isshin sighed, and told Ichigo the story of how he himself used to be a Shinigami, and one of the more powerful ones at that. He also explained how his powers were sealed away before he married Masaki, and about the structure of Soul Society.

Ichigo: So Soul Society is basically a civilian population, as well as a military organisation, which is split into thirteen divisions. The division heads are captains and are the most powerful Shinigami. You used to be one of these captains, but accepted a human life, and the loss of your powers to be with mom.

Isshin confirmed this.

Ichigo: You know dad…that makes you one of the bravest people I've ever met. It's not easy to give up power, especially a captain-level power. Tatsuki and I always tried to become stronger. I can't even imagine giving up that strength now.

Isshin was surprised.

Isshin: That's pretty insightful, Ichigo. I'm glad to see that. Now, I must tell you one more thing. This is the most important of all this. But before that, I want you to promise that you won't tell Karin and Yuzu about all we have discussed. Whatever is said in this room stays here. This information is a heavy burden and I wish to spare them, at least until a few more years when they are older. Then, I promise I will tell them everything.

Ichigo: Alright dad. What else do you have?

Isshin: The cause of your mother's death. Not all spirits are saved by the Shinigami. Sometimes, they arrive too late, and they might miss the spirit. The soul chain of spirits can erode, and when it completely disappears, the soul will turn into a Hollow. Hollows are spirits that have lost their heart, to speak in an emotional sense. To fill the void created by their lack of a heart, they eat other souls. Now, we shouldn't blame them, because they're like animals, driven by a will to eat other souls. The second duty of Shinigami is to purify hollows. Everytime a hollow is killed by a Shinigami's blade, the sins it was forced to commit as a hollow are cleansed, are its soul is sent to Soul Society.

Isshin looked at his son meaningfully as he said those words, not wanting him to hat hollows, as they were practically forced by their instincts to kill.

Isshin: However, it is possible to control hollows. Masaki was killed by a hollow, and that hollow was acting on orders.

Ichigo looked shocked. In a dry voice, he said, "Whose orders?"

Isshin: A terrible man named Sosuke Aizen. He's the captain of Soul Society's 5th Division now, but the sole reason he's working for them, is to steal information from them and use his authority as a cover while secretly engaging in illegal activities. Soul Society has no clue of his true intentions believing him to be a good man. Two other captains are also working with him, while pretending to be concerned with Soul Society's well-being. It was him who sent a powerful hollow to kill Masaki, although I don't know why.

Ichigo was speechless. There was a man he didn't know anything about, and that man had given the order to kill his mother. What kind of a bastard was that man? Ichigo could not begin to comprehend the extent of the man's malice.

Isshin: Ichigo, you have great potential, and you could become a powerful shinigami in time. I may no longer have your powers, but I can still train you in theory. Will you accept my offer to train you?

Ichigo: I have to get stronger, and defeat that man. For mom, and our family's sake. I accept, dad.

Isshin: Alright, son, go get some sleep, training starts tomorrow. And remember, please do not tell your sisters about this. We will tell them in several years' time. A soul as powerful as yours can go without sleep for quite a while if you eat enough to replenish your energy, so we can train in this special soundproof room at night, so that your sisters do not suspect a thing. You can still concentrate at school even if you spend more than half the night training.

And with that, the two went off to sleep, having spoken about all this.

End Chapter 1

Author's note: Isshin seems skilled in all four areas of Shinigami combat: swordplay (zanjutsu), hand-to-hand fighting (hakuda), demon arts (kido), and footwork (hoho), judging by his attacking Ichigo in the anime, and his fight in the manga. He'll be a fine teacher, even without his powers. Ichigo becomes a Shinigami at 9 years old, and trains hard. No one knows about his training, not even Kisuke and his group, not Soul Society, and definitely not Aizen.


	2. Chapter 2

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 2

Hello once again people, here's chapter 2! Thanks for the interesting review, I-Kill-U-For-Yaoi, and thanks drake-dragon-101 for adding this story to your favourite stories! It might be a little early, but thanks for your confidence in me anyways =DD

Previously on _Cruel to be Kind_, Ichigo learns the truth behind his mother's death, and his father's past. He agrees to train with his father in the ways of a Shinigami, so that he can protect those close to him, instead of constantly thinking about his mother's death and being full of regret.

The training he goes through is the same as the 6-year long skills training course offered by the Shinigami Academy in Soul Society. However, Ichigo, with his prodigious talents, finished the course in half the time.

For the remaining three years for which he was meant to study and train, Ichigo received a new kind of training. This new training was about secret-agent skills. Ichigo learnt techniques on how to interrogate people, and to get them to spill information without resorting to violence. He also learnt techniques on how to withstand torture, how to negotiate his way out of tight situations, lying effortlessly and other skills. He also learnt to analyse situations fast, and decide which way to proceed, which skills to use and how to quickly incapacitate the enemy. Most importantly, he learnt that he couldn't always be headstrong and rush into situations. He had to show some restraint sometimes, as that was far more effective. He recognized that he had to be cold sometimes in order to protect. He had to be cruel - to be kind.

Four years after Ichigo's training starts, when he's thirteen years old

Ichigo was walking back home from the supermarket where he went to buy some groceries for Yuzu. On the way, he witnessed a local gang crowding around somebody. Evidently, they had found a lone woman, and they wanted to "have fun" with her, in their words. The woman, who had silver hair, light purple eyes, and a completely expressionless face, was surprisingly, not resisting the men's advances. She was completely silent and did not move, even as the obnoxious men touched her in ways a man should never touch a woman. Immediately, Ichigo's blood boiled. However, before his training immediately kicked in. He took a small rock off the street, and threw it at one of the men. Lingering around just long enough for the gangsters to see him, he immediately took off and ran around a corner. Furious that someone had dared to attack them, the gangsters abandoned the woman and ran after Ichigo. However, the orange-head was gone by the time they turned the corner. The gangsters chose the path they thought Ichigo had taken and ran in that direction. Ichigo, unknown to them, had already sneaked back to the woman.

Ichigo: Hey, are you alright? Did they hurt you?

The woman simply nodded her head slowly, still not showing any emotion.

Ichigo: Why didn't you call for help? Somebody would have helped you if you had yelled out.

The woman remained silent.

Ichigo: What's your name?

This time the woman spoke, "Yin."

Ichigo: Come with me Yin, my dad runs a clinic. He can patch you up.

He took Yin's hand and took her back to the clinic, choosing a different route, so as to not get caught by the gangsters. When they reached the clinic, Isshin took one look at the woman, and immediately paled considerably.

Isshin: Y-Y-Yin? Is that you, Yin?

Yin simply nodded, while Ichigo immediately asked how his father knew her.

Isshin: You said that she was getting molested, right son? She's got some slight injuries, let's get her patched up, and then I'll explain what's going on.

Yin had been the daughter of a friend of Isshin's. She had gained spiritual awareness as a child, but lost her ability to feel emotions, and gained the ability to eavesdrop on people by sending out an observation spirit. This spirit travelled through the medium of water, so Yin could not spy on people unless they were near water. Yin explained that her parents had sent her to the town. Isshin brought the family together, and in his goofy way, introduced his third daughter to the family. Yin was a member of Ichigo's family from that point on, although Ichigo and Isshin knew that she was not blood-related. Ichigo's training continued in secret, but now Yin was also there to help him out, using her abilities to guide him. A close bond grew between the silver-haired doll, and the carrot-topped Shinigami/Secret Agent.

Two years later, Ichigo's 15th birthday 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ICHIGOOOOO!" sang his goofy dad, along with his two sisters, while Yin remained silent. With that, the now 15 year-old orange-head received hugs from Yin and his sisters, smiling widely. Later, after the family party had died down, Isshin took Ichigo and Yin aside.

Isshin: Ichigo, up until now, I have never had a student as good as you for training. Your training is complete now. All that remains is to defeat Aizen.

Ichigo: I'm grateful for your help dad. You too, Yin. Thanks. Now I can better protect my loved ones.

Isshin: Yeah, that's the spirit son! But, on a more serious note, I believe it is time to inform your sisters. They are old enough, older than you were when you heard this news.

Ichigo: Yeah, that's true. We should open their eyes now to the world as we know it. The safety they feel not knowing about spirits is false, and they're better off knowing. However, I don't want them to become Shinigami unless they really have to.

Isshin: I agree son. Come, we all have to be present when the truth is broken to them.

And thus, Karin and Yuzu learnt the truth about the worlds, and of their mother's murder. It was painful for the two girls, but they saw and accepted the truth. They also came to accept their brother and his great power, and his new personality, knowing that his intentions were pure, and still continued to love him regardless. They also continued to consider Yin as family, despite knowing the truth.

Isshin: Remember girls, we're not supposed to know Shinigami. As far as _anyone_ is concerned, we are a normal family whose only oddity is that two of us can see spirits. You have to keep up this façade, as Ichigo, Yin and I have to defeat an enemy who has thrown our family into chaos. The secret is important, so please make sure you keep it.

Karin: I really wish you had told us earlier guys…but now that we know, I guess we can't complain. Ok we'll keep your secret.

Isshin: Thank you very much Karin. Now, Ichigo, you know what's going to happen soon right?

Ichigo: Yeah. Soul Society will send a Shinigami, and according to Aizen's plans, Kisuke Urahara will keep the hogyoku within a gigai which will be used by the Shinigami. That will require her to lose her powers, and since Urahara has been interested in me for a while, he will deliberately allow her powers to be transferred to me. As far as Soul Society is concerned, that will be the time when my Shinigami powers awakened.

Isshin: Your memory's as sharp as ever…

Ichigo: Thanks…but are you sure we can trust Byakuya Kuchiki? He's a friend of yours, but he seems like the type of man who would definitely follow orders no matter what. You sure he will play along with our plan?

Isshin: Don't worry son, I completely trust him. Sure, he may be quite the arrogant snob sometimes, but he's a good friend of mine and he will play along with our plan.

Ichigo: If you say so…

And the family split and went to sleep, each having their own apprehensions about what was about

to happen.

Then, the fateful night came. Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki stepped through the window of Ichigo Kurosaki, who made sure to hide his reiatsu to a lower level, a level that would continue to block Rukia's senses, but be low enough not to alarm Rukia too much. All the usual drama followed, with Ichigo, "with difficulty", breaking out of Rukia's pathetically-weak-compared-to-his-own kido. He soon stood before the hollow that had been sent there by Aizen. He pretended to look scared but defiant, while inwardly reflecting how ironic it was that Aizen had personally set in motion a series of events that would ultimately lead to his downfall. Rukia soon got injured and suggested the transfer of power. Ichigo accepted, and the transfer took place, under the watchful eye of a certain lazy shopkeeper.

Urahara: Well hello there Ms Kuchiki! Now that you've lost your powers, would a gigai be in order?

End Chapter 2

Author's note: As I promised at the beginning of the last chapter, I'll now provide some information on Yin from the official Darker than BLACK storyline. Yin is a "doll", an emotionless person with the power to send out observation spirits through water. For it to work, Yin's skin has to touch water, and the target must be near water. The observation spirit looks like this: .com/wiki/File:Doll's_

The observation spirit is the blue cloud over the water puddle in the picture. Yin is supposed to not feel emotions, and do only what she is ordered to do, and her friendship with Ichigo _seems_ rather one sided thanks to this. However, the time she spends with humans, particularly with Ichigo, changes her and she tries to show emotion sometimes. Also, it can be noted that Ichigo's personality is somewhat like that of Hei, also from DtB. But the actual character Hei will not be appearing in this story.

Chapter 2 ends, and Ichigo and his father have put in motion their plan to defeat Aizen. This plan so far involves Ichigo gaining Soul Society's attention by accepting the power of Rukia. As far as Soul Society is concerned, this is when Ichigo became a Shinigami, although we all know he really became one when he was 9 years old. Nobody knows the full details of the plan, except Ichigo and Isshin, and perhaps Yin. Karin, Yuzu know some details, and they are keeping it a secret. Byakuya Kuchiki also knows some details, and is cooperating with Isshin, his good friend.

What will happen next, now that many people know about Ichigo's transformation? For one thing, Uryu Ishida's attitude towards Ichigo is going to change. Stay tuned to find out more…


	3. Chapter 3

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 3

Hello again people, here's chapter 3! It seems that several people have high hopes for this story. I hope not to disappoint you guys. Thanks for having confidence in me, people!

Previously on _Cruel to be Kind_, Ichigo meets a woman named Yin, who has to ability to eavesdrop on people through water, and who's the daughter of his father's friend. Ichigo completes his training-both in the Shinigami arts and in human spy skills- by his 15th birthday. Byakuya Kuchiki knows some details of Isshin and Ichigo's plans, and is their secret partner.

According to the plan, which is unknown even to Kisuke Urahara and his associates, Ichigo receives Rukia's powers. Urahara now has his excuse to place the hogyoku in Rukia's soul, _without her knowledge, but as predicted by Isshin_.

The only difference this makes to Ichigo's power is that he now has Rukia's spirit energy and Shinigami's powers _in addition to his own_. However, Ichigo is hiding his own strength and pretending to be an unremarkable Shinigami, despite his powers being greater than the average human. He even went to the length of altering the shape of Zangetsu's sealed form. Originally from his training, Zangetsu starts off as a sealed sword that is the size and shape of a regular Japanese sword, however, to give off the impression that he's not in control of his own power, Zangetsu takes the form of a large buster sword, the same that Ichigo uses in the official storyline between first meeting Rukia and training with Urahara.

The transfer of power makes Ichigo's power finally noticeable to observers in Soul Society and the real world. Urahara, as well as Uryu Ishida only now know that Ichigo is a Shinigami. Other observant people, like Tatsuki, Inoue and Sado, know something's up, but, not surprisingly, are unable to put their finger on it. And thus a new chapter starts. Quincy Archer still hates you, Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki.

Story Proper

It had been a few days since Rukia transferred her powers to Ichigo. Ichigo had been successfully forced (in her opinion) to take over her duties as a Shinigami. Everything was going smoothly. There was quite a run-in with the modified soul, Kon, as well as with that Grand Fisher monster at the graveyard, but surprisingly, Ichigo had managed to keep his cool and had dealt the legendary hollow a wound he wouldn't quickly forget. When she questioned him later on how he was able to keep cool even though he was facing the hollow that had killed his mother, he cryptically replied," No point in killing the messenger." Rukia had long since given up trying to figure out the meaning of those words, or trying to get it out of Ichigo.

Now it was back to school, but another problem had suddenly turned up. Someone was slaying hollows even before Ichigo could get to it. Ichigo didn't know what was going on, so he made sure to ask his father as soon as he reached home, when Rukia was out of the way.

Isshin: Someone's killing hollows faster than you reach them? I suppose it might be Ryuken.

Ichigo: Ryuken? You mean Ryuken Ishida, director of the local Hospital? What does he have to do with this?

Isshin: That man is actually a friend of mine. He too is a powerful spiritually aware human with his own powers. He is what we call a Quincy. Quincies are a race of spiritually aware humans who have great control over the spirit particles, or reishi, in the surroundings. They manipulate reishi and spirit energy, or reiryoku, to create weapons. The Quincies are very traditional-minded, and traditionally, they use bows and arrows created out of reishi. They also usually wear white and blue clothes while fighting, and they are represented by two main symbols. One is a regular t-shaped cross, and the other is a pentacle.

Ichigo: Bows and arrows? The speed and lethality of such ancient armaments can be greatly enhanced using reishi and reiryoku. No wonder he managed to get a hit on that hollow before I even arrived there. He could also have easily hidden his presence with his skills.

Isshin: But having said that, I find this all quite strange. Ryuken is driven by a need for money, for he knows it is necessary for his and his family's survival in a world like this. He thinks that being a Quincy and killing hollows will get in the way of this, so he gave up being a Quincy in name a long time ago. However, he still has his powers. So we can't rule out the possibility that our hollow-killing assassin is him.

Ichigo: Wait…you said his last name is "Ishida". Does he by any chance have a son named Uryu? Just today, my friends and I were looking at the exam scores of my schoolmates. The top score was achieved by an Uryu Ishida.

Isshin: Yeah, that's it! The killer must be him. Ryuken once complained to me that his son was still following the old ways of the Quincies. It must be him.

Ichigo: Ever since Rukia transferred her powers to me, it felt like someone with spiritual power was following me. It must be him. Striking down hollows, knowing that I was moving in to kill them must have been his idea of a challenge. If that's really the case, he might give an open challenge in the future.

With that, Ichigo went to the room next to his, knocked and entered, to find a silver-haired girl around his age sitting on the bed, looking expressionless.

Yin: Welcome back Ichigo.

Ichigo: Thanks Yin. Sorry but could you do me a favour? Could you find a man for me? Look in the Ishida hospital for a student my age. He has blue eyes, raven-black hair, wears glasses and-

Yin: Found him. He is in a special room looking at a white object. It is flat and round like a coin.

Ichigo: I see. I don't know what he's up to but I'll probably find out tomorrow. Thanks for helping me out, Yin.

The doll simply nodded, and Ichigo left. That night, Rukia detected another Hollow and dragged along Ichigo to fight it. He thought about telling Rukia that it was probably pointless, as the unknown hollow-killer (Ichigo had decided not to divulge to Rukia what he knew about the killer).

Just as he had thought, someone had killed the hollow beforehand. That someone was still in the vicinity and Ichigo knew, although he didn't show it. Behind them, someone stepped up and greeted them in a voice that was polite, but bordering on coldness. Ichigo feigned ignorance, and demanded to know who it was.

The stranger spoke," My name is Uryu Ishida. I am a Quincy, and I hate Shinigami."

Immediately, Ichigo thought to himself," Just as Dad and I deduced. It's a Quincy, the son of Ryuken Ishida. But why does he hate Shinigami? And why does he tell it to me? Someone with his level of sensory skills should have realized that I only became a Shinigami less than a month ago. Unless he knows of my prior training? No, that's not possible, not even Kisuke Urahara was able to find out about that. "

He concluded that Ishida's statement might simply have been a childish hatred, similar to how he might have hated hollows for killing his mother, if he didn't know that most hollows are like animals, uncontrollable and acting on instinct. According to his father, there had been wars between the Shinigami as an organization and the Quincies. That might have been the reason. He threw some questions at Ishida, so that the Quincy would not suspect that he knew more than he let on.

The next day 

During school, Ishida prepared himself for the challenge he was going to hand Ichigo later. He checked the hollow bait. The previous day, when he took it from his stores, he had felt the weird feeling of being watched, but nobody was in the room, not even security cameras. With the bait, he could challenge the impertinent Kurosaki boy to a battle and prove his superiority over the Shinigami.

After school 

Ishida followed Ichigo, and shook his head at Ichigo's lack of reaction, not knowing that Ichigo had already registered his presence a long time ago. Ishida allowed himself a small smile. Soon, he would show that accursed Shinigami who was better. Then something startled him. _Kurosaki was gone_.

He looked around in shock. The guy was physically not present, even his reiatsu was completely missing. Ishida immediately started to feel worry. Had he underestimated Kurosaki? Had he been aware that someone had been pursuing him and escaped? The filthy coward! Immediately, Ishida used his flash step to head in the most likely direction Ichigo could have gone in.

However, as he performed another flash step, a metal cable suddenly wrapped around his neck, forcibly pulling him out of his high-speed step, and as a result causing him to fall to the ground unceremoniously. The next moment, he had been flipped over his back and a pair of powerful hands bound his arms, preventing movement. A knee smashed into his back. Ishida cried out in pain and struggled to look at his assailant, seeing a mop of orange hair.

Ishida: Kurosaki! But how…?

Ichigo said coldly: Don't think I know nothing about you. You hate Shinigami for some reason, probably related to the war some time ago, and now want to challenge me to a pointless duel to assert your superiority. Where is that white coin you were handling yesterday? Is it your weapon?

Ishida gasped in shock. Someone had been watching him the previous day, and had relayed the information to Kurosaki. But how? No one had been in the room but him.

Ichigo, not wishing to interrogate the young man in this cruel manner, decided to release him.

Ichigo: Tell me everything. I'll let you up now. Any aggressive moves and I'll not hesitate to strike you down.

Ishida immediately saw his chance. The hollow bait had fallen out of his pocket, out of Ichigo's line of sight. As soon as one hand was freed, he smashed his fist down on the bait and destroyed it. Ichigo cursed, and then punched Ishida's face. Stars appeared in Ishida's head-the boy's punch was strong.

Ichigo let him drop to the floor, then coldly ordered," Stand, Quincy. Because of your actions, this town has been placed in danger. You're going to help me cleanse the hollows here, for now."

And immediately, using the thin metal cable he had used to catch Ishida earlier, he leapt to the top of a house, separating his Shinigami form from his body, and placing Kon in his body at the same time. As soon as he reached the first rooftop, he pressed the button on a small device in his hand, causing the metal cable to return to the device. Immediately, he looked down at the Quincy and the mod soul.

Ichigo: Kon, go find Rukia and inform her that many hollows will soon be arriving here. Ishida, you fight too, and take down as many hollows as you can.

Kon immediately ran off to find Rukia without complaint. Ishida indignantly shouted," Like I'm taking orders from you dammit!", but the orange-headed reaper was already gone. Ishida cursed and decided to do as Ichigo said. The town was in danger, and killing the hollows was obviously the best thing to do at a time like this.

Ichigo jumped from house to house killing hollows as he went. He would normally have flash-stepped, but then people would have seen his true skills and he didn't want that yet. Soon, something else appeared, and immediately, Ichigo stopped and stared at it in shock. A menos grande had just entered the real world. Ichigo immediately hurried over towards it.

Meanwhile, in other parts of town, Inoue and Sado had experienced hollows, and through the encounters, had developed their own powers. Urahara had picked them up and invited them to view Ichigo fight the Menos, to help them decide if they wanted to embrace, or suppress their new found powers.

Against all expectations, Ichigo beat the Menos, although he contented himself with sending it back to Hueco Mundo with a scar rather than kill it, which should have been impossible for a Shinigami at the level Urahara and Rukia saw him at.

Inoue and Sado looked at the scene before them in shock, looking at the tear in the sky where the massive black masked monster had come from. They then looked down to see if Ichigo was there, but Ichigo and Ishida were missing, completely gone without a trace.

Ichigo had used his flash step to quickly make a get away from the scene, bringing Ishida with him by the hand. He reached a small empty shack he had known to be empty, and forcefully shoved Ishida inside.

Ishida: OWW! What the hell do you think you're doing, Kurosaki!

Ichigo looked at him coldly and answered in an equally cold voice.

Ichigo: That's my line. Even though the odds were stacked against you, you smashed that hollow bait, hoping to "defeat" me in a battle, even going so far as to put the town in danger, all because of your arrogance. You disgust me as much as the soul society top brass.

Ishida: The Soul Society top brass? Aren't you loyal to them?

Ichigo: What makes you think I am? I've been living in this town all my life. I only became a Shinigami lately. I'm not from Soul Society. I obtained this power to protect people. As long as people have good intentions, then what does it matter who they work for? You're wrong and short sighted in hating all Shinigami just because of the bad decisions made by the top brass.

Ishida: You-you don't understand! Have you any idea of the pain my grandfather, the man who trained me in the ways of the Quincies, went through because of the Shinigami?

Ichigo: What of it? Listen-right now, this entire town is in danger because of the Shinigami, or rather because of three Shinigami who are pretending to be loyal members of the Soul Society elite. Right now, my dad and I are trying to stop them, in a secret plan that no one knows about except my family, one of my father's friends, one of my friends…as well as your father.

Ishida was shocked at this revelation.

Ishida: My father is interfering with Soul Society business? Why? He said he no longer wanted anything to do with the Quincies or Shinigami…

Ichigo: Your father is a realistic man. This town is in real danger, and he wishes to help us protect it. Therefore, Uryu Ishida, I offer you the choice now. Work with us, and be a part of the solution. Fighting the Shinigami or fighting the low level hollows that show up from time to time is nothing compared to what we're doing now.

Ishida mulled it over. It hurt his pride to be doing something like this, but then he remembered that his grandfather would never hold a grudge. His grandfather, who always wished to work alongside the Shinigami to protect the world he loved, and the people in it. He accepted, and Ichigo smiled at him in a welcome-aboard manner, and explained to him the plan.

End Chapter 3

Author's note: And thus ends Chapter 3. Ishida is hereby a member of the Kurosaki group (this is what I'll be calling Isshin, Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, Yin, Byakuya, Ryuken and Uryu now, as they are the people who know about Isshin's plan to defeat Aizen, although Karin and Yuzu will be less active). Ichigo used a metal cable to take down Ishida. The cable is a miniature grappling hook that Ichigo uses to scale heights and catch opponents in his human body, when he does not wish to use his Shinigami form, for secrecy's sake. Hope that clears any doubts about the metal cable he used.

Time runs on, and the time limit for Rukia's mission in the human world will soon expire. Aizen makes his next move in his quest to obtain the hogyoku. How will the encounter go, however? Considering that he is sending a secret ally of Isshin's against Ichigo? Stay tuned to find out more.


	4. Chapter 4

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 4

Hello people, thanks once again for the reviews, and for adding this story to alert lists!

Previously on _Cruel to be Kind_, Ichigo has his 'battle' with Ishida. The battle was initiated by Ishida out of spite, and was rather one-sided. Ichigo killed many hollows, and injured the menos grande, forcing it back to Hueco Mundo. Inoue and Sado also awoke their own powers, and decided to embrace those powers, rather than suppress them.

At the end of the battle, Ichigo brought Ishida to a hideout and told him his secret, as Ryuken Ishida himself was involved in Isshin and Ichigo's plan. Ishida realized the importance, and scale of the Kurosakis' plans and decided to lend them his strength and abilities-but on one condition: That his father not be informed of his joining the "Kurosaki group". Ichigo agrees and keeps Ishida's decision a secret to himself, and to Byakuya, since Byakuya needs-to-know, for the mission.

Ichigo secretly passes on some of his knowledge about the Shinigami as an organization, as well as some human secret-agent techniques to Ishida, to make him better equipped to help. Ishida initially had some qualms, because of his pride, but soon overcame it, and is a capable "agent" now. Chapter 4 begins. Byakuya finally makes his entrance to the human world, and the Kurosakis' plan continues to be fulfilled.

**WARNING: ** This chapter has spoilers regarding the Hogyoku, and its true power. For those who don't read the manga, you have been warned. I have marked the area which contains spoilers.

Story Proper

At school 

Rukia was feeling nervous. She had overstayed her trip to the living world. Soul Society would not be pleased. Things would be made worse if they realized that she had transferred her powers to a living human. Sure, Ichigo was strong, but he was nowhere near the abilities of a captain, or even a vice captain.

Having thought that, Rukia looked in the direction of Ichigo. He was sitting with his usual group of friends, but unexpectedly, Uryu Ishida was also sitting nearby. Had the two had suddenly become friends after their major battle the other day? Finding it strange, Rukia remembered that she, as a representative of Soul Society, had not yet confronted the Quincy about his actions. There had been wars between the Quincies and Soul Society before, and Soul Society had wiped out the ancient race of humans, but had failed to wipe out the Ishida family.

Normally she would go and confront him, but this time, she had other things on her mind. Thanks to Ichigo's overflowing spiritual pressure, two humans had gained spiritual abilities, and several others had awoken their spiritual senses. However, that was not her problem. She had to protect Ichigo from Soul Society, and to do that, she had to run away, and lie to Soul Society that she had lost her powers, but no human had received them. She didn't know if anyone would believe that, but she had to try. Yes, her escape would be that night.

That night 

Ichigo stepped into his room after taking a shower. When he had left to take that shower, Rukia had been writing something on a paper torn out of his notebook. She had acted all defensive when he had asked to know what she was writing, and had hidden the paper with her hands. Ichigo smiled slightly. She was probably going to run, as a way to protect Ichigo from Soul Society. How naïve. She didn't even try to cover her tracks. Any captain or even vice captain could follow the trail, right back to him, as well as the spiritually aware humans in town. However, that wouldn't be a problem. He knew exactly who was coming. He checked inside his cupboard, and examined a small, round, black object that his father had passed on to him earlier. He separated his soul from his body and placed the object inside the pocket of his Shinigami uniform, before re-entering his body. Everything was going according to plan.

Elsewhere in town 

A Senkai gate opened out of thin air, and two men stepped out into the cool night. One of them had long black hair that was kept in place by an elaborate hairpiece. The other had long red hair that was kept tied up in a spiky tail, that looked rather similar to a pineapple's top. The red-head was wearing something that looked rather like a futuristic pair of sunglasses on top of his head. He pulled the eyewear over his eyes, and used it to scan the area in front of him, after jumping to the top of a nearby power line pole. He smirked after a few seconds, and called out to the black-haired man on the ground, in a tone that was cocky, but still respectful.

Red-head: Found her, Captain!

Black-haired man: Let's go, Renji.

The two men disappeared into the night and soon reappeared a few metres behind Rukia, who was still running as fast as she could. The red-head, who had been called "Renji" by the black-haired man, smirked, and called out to Rukia in a cocky voice.

Renji: You sure have been enjoying this world haven't you…Rukia!

Rukia: Renji…Is that you?

Renji responded by swinging his sword down on the pavement right in front of where Rukia was standing, deliberately missing her by mere centimetres.

Renji: That human whom you transferred your powers to…call him out here, Rukia!

Rukia was shocked. How could they have known about it? Quickly, she played dumb.

Rukia: What the hell are you talking about?

Renji: Watch your language, dammit, I'm a lieutenant now! And don't play dumb, we know all about the crimes you committed here.

At that moment, Byakuya looked up, looking slightly interested. His advanced senses had picked up what Rukia and Renji's hadn't: The partially masked spiritual pressures of a Quincy and a Shinigami. As soon as the mop of orange hair belonging to Ichigo had been seen by Rukia, the Shinigami captain made his move.

Byakuya: You're coming with us Rukia. Whether you want to or not.

With that, he executed a flash step so fast that even Renji missed it. He reappeared at Rukia's back and immediately placed his hand on Rukia's back right above her heart. The next moment, Rukia collapsed, unconscious. At the same time, Renji felt a hand on his back. He too fell unconscious. Now, there were only Ichigo, Byakuya, and a slightly surprised Uryu.

Uryu: What inhuman speed…What did you do to them?

Ichigo: We placed our hands on their backs and used Hado number 11: Tsuzuri Raiden, without calling out the name of the attack. The power is drastically decreased this way, but that is the desired effect. The electricity generated by the spell was enough to render them unconscious, so that we can have a short discussion, and do what needs to be done.

Byakuya: We should be careful. Urahara might come here soon.

Ichigo: Yeah. To delay him, we can set up a kyomon barrier.

With that, Ichigo recited the incantation and cast the spell.

Ichigo: _Break the last glass, and disperse the scenery: Kyomon!_

The sound of breaking glass briefly sounded and a barrier set itself up.

Ichigo: Done. Anyone on the outside will see warning signs cordoning off this area. The Kyomon I set up had an illusion spell mixed into it. We should be able to work undisturbed now.

Byakuya: Impressive. Do you have it?

Ichigo: Of course.

And Ichigo handed him the small black object he had placed in his pocket before setting looked at it carefully, then gasped.

Ishida: Isn't that…_the hogyoku_?

**Spoiler starts here**

Ichigo smirked.

Ichigo: Yes…and no. The hogyoku in Byakuya's hands is a fake. It also has its own power, but that power is low compared to the real one. Let me explain this more clearly. The hogyoku was initially thought to be a powerful item that can break down the barriers between Shinigami and Hollows. Meaning, it can make Shinigami-Hollow hybrids. These hybrids will have greater power than pure Shinigami or pure Hollows. However, this definition of the Hogyoku's powers is a misconception. The true power of the Hogyoku is the materialization of the _hearts_ of the people in its vicinity. The deepest desire of your heart can be brought to fruition with the Hogyoku's powers. The limitation is that you must have sufficient power to fulfil those wishes on your own. However, even with that limitation, the real hogyoku in the hands of Aizen…will bring about disastrous consequences. So, we are going to seal away the real Hogyoku for good, and allow Aizen to get a false one.

Ishida: I see…so what's the power of the false one?

Ichigo: We want to lull Aizen into a false sense of security. So, the new one was designed together by my father and your father to break down the boundaries of Shinigami and hollow. It will not be able to materialize hearts. It will certainly give us trouble in the future, when Aizen starts churning out Arrancars and sending them to fight us, but some sacrifices have to be made.

While they had been talking, Byakuya had successfully extracted the true Hogyoku from Rukia's soul, and replaced it with the fake.

**Spoiler ends here**

Ishida: Still, I don't like this. Aren't we…well, you know…using Ms Kuchiki to achieve our ends?

Ichigo: Well…yeah. But don't worry about it. She will be sentenced to execution, but Byakuya and I won't let that happen. We'll save her for sure. Aizen intends to use the execution as a means to extract the Hogyoku, but with the execution unable to proceed, he'll have to use a non-lethal method to extract the Hogyoku, the same method Byakuya just used. After that, he might try to kill her, but we'll also stop him from doing that. We probably will fail, but by that point, the Shinigami would have realized Aizen's treacherous actions, and will help us out.

Byakuya: It's a good plan, and I think we shall be successful, in this first major phase. Now, I know what I have to do now…but are you sure about this?

Ichigo: Yeah, I'm sure. I may come across as cold sometimes…but I do have feelings, and I've come to regard Rukia as a friend. She's powerless right now, and the only way for her to regain her own powers is for me to lose what she's given me. So, go ahead. Stab my Chain Link and Soul Sleep. I'll be alright. My own Shinigami powers will soon surface; this action will not render me powerless. Hurry, Urahara will soon be here!

Byakuya raised his eyebrows, then gave a small smile, and nodded in respect.

Byakuya: Isshin has taught you well. Your strength really is something else.

And with one flash step, he stabbed Ichigo's abdomen in two points, the Chain link and the Soul Sleep, destroying the powers given by Rukia, but leaving Ichigo's own powers intact. He also gave Ishida a minor wound, at the Quincy's request, to make the whole thing more believable.

Byakuya stepped over to Renji and Rukia and administered another minor electric shock to each of them to wake them up.

Rukia: What happened…? Ichigo? Ishida!

Renji: Why that orange bastard…I can't believe I got knocked out by him…Thanks for taking care of him, Captain.

Byakuya: Open the gate, Renji, we're leaving.

Renji did so, and stepped inside the gate.

Ichigo had to stop himself from smirking despite the pain. Quickly playing the part of the wounded rescuer, he looked up painfully .

Ichigo: Hey…stop, dammit….

And then he lost consciousness.

Byakuya suppressed a look of concern and quickly turned it into a cold glare, before closing the gate and disappearing. Immediately, the barrier disappeared, revealing Urahara and Tessai.

End Chapter 4

Author: Hey guys, sorry if Byakuya's OOC, with the way he behaves towards Ichigo. But do remember that he's a friend of Isshin, and his coldness is simply a façade he shows everyone, except certain people like the Kurosaki group. Thus ends Chapter 4, end the first major phase of the Kurosaki plan! Next episode will be about Ichigo training. I pity him, it must be frustrating to learn from a man who knows less than he does, and to suppress his true strength. For those of you who are wondering, Ichigo is a "pure" Shinigami now, but the inner Hollow will be appearing soon. The inner hollow will also be rather OOC, sorry about that, but it is required for the story to work.

Oh, and here's another disclaimer: I do not own the song Kakusei Heroism by An Cafe. The incantation for the Kyomon that Ichigo used was made up, and was based on a lyric from that song.

**Spoiler alert, again**

Note: The Hogyoku that is currently in Rukia's soul is a fake one. This fake is able to create Shinigami-hollow hybrids, but is unable to manifest the hearts of the people around it. The real hogyoku is in the real world, completely sealed away. It is of no further concern to the story line of this fan fiction.

**Spoiler ends here**

Now that Rukia has been taken to Soul Society, Ichigo and Byakuya need to save her from execution? The two have an excellent plan for doing so, but will it work? Stay tuned to find out more!


	5. Chapter 5

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 5

Previously on _Cruel to be Kind_, Byakuya and Renji come to the human world and arrest Rukia. Byakuya (who's on the Kurosaki group) destroys Ichigo's chain link and soul sleep, as requested by Ichigo, as it is the only way for Rukia to regain her powers. Byakuya also knows about Aizen's plans, as do the rest of the Kurosaki group, and wishes to stop the execution alongside Ichigo.

The Hogyoku that Urahara placed in Rukia's soul has been extracted and permanently sealed away by Byakuya. In its place is a fake Hogyoku that has been deliberately placed in Rukia's soul for Aizen to take. Ichigo, as well as his teammate Uryu Ishida have been left on the ground with injuries that were deliberately non-life-threatening. Urahara and Tessai find the two unconscious teenagers on the pavement and take them to their shop.

Story Proper

Ichigo opened his eyes, knowing he would be inside the Urahara shop. The first thing he saw was a bespectacled face with tanned skin and a bushy moustache. He registered the presence of someone lying on top of him. Instinctively, he reacted violently, pushing the man off and onto the wall nearby.

Tessai: Immediate reaction! Looks like you have healed well.

Ichigo immediately replied furiously. He did have a headstrong image to maintain, after all. At that moment, Urahara walked in.

Urahara: Well, how good it is to see you all healed up, Mr Kurosaki!

Ichigo: You guys healed my wounds? Well, thanks, I guess…

Then, Ichigo suddenly registered two more spiritual presences in the room. He looked behind him, and was surprised to see who was there.

Ichigo: Yin?

Yin: Ichigo.

Urahara: Yin? Is that her name? This lovely young woman stepped up to our door mere minutes after we brought you here yesterday, and has been here since. She didn't even say her name. She just said she knew you and came here. Is she your girlfriend, Mr Kurosaki…?

Ichigo twitched angrily at the perverted shopkeeper's antics, and replied saying that she was a friend, which earned him a smirk from Urahara. He then started observing the black cat that was looking closely at him through golden eyes. The cat was on Yin's lap, and strangely, there was a very slight bit of spiritual pressure coming from it. Ichigo knew that the reiatsu was being masked, but why would a cat have reiatsu in the first place? Ichigo decided not to think about it.

Ichigo: They took Rukia. I have to go save her!

At this point, Urahara became serious. He used his cane to push Ichigo back down on the ground and spoke to him, with the cane's tip still directly above Ichigo's forehead.

Urahara: Listen carefully Mr Kurosaki. Those two who took Rukia were Captain and lieutenant-class Shinigami. They aren't the only ones of that category, and you were unable to fight them and win. If you go there now, you'll only be running to your own death. Stay here and train with me. In ten days, I shall make you strong enough to take on Soul Society and survive. Besides, in case you didn't notice, you no longer have your Shinigami powers.

Ichigo: Is there enough time anyway, for this so-called training of yours?

Urahara: Of course there is. Soul Society always provides a grace period of a month before execution. You take 10 days of training, 7 days to prepare the Senkai gate, and a further 13 days for you to try and rescue Ms Kuchiki. More than enough time, isn't it? So take your rest. Your training starts after school tomorrow, since tomorrow's the last day of school before summer break. Well then, rest for a while then. We'll leave you alone with your…_friend_.

Ichigo threw an insult after him as he left, and then turned to Yin after the two men and the cat had left.

Ichigo: Is something wrong, Yin? Why did you come here?

Yin: I was concerned. Are you alright_?_

Ichigo was surprised. Yin had hardly spoken as much before. She also did not go to this length to express concern. He quickly got over the surprise.

Ichigo: Yeah, those guys patched me up pretty good. Thanks for your concern Yin. Don't worry, I'm fine.

Yin nodded. A few hours passed, and Ichigo decided that he had rested enough. He saw Urahara and got permission to leave, as well as some medicine that was in a suspicious looking bottle. He then took Yin's hand.

Ichigo: Thanks for saving my life Mr Urahara. I'll see you tomorrow. Let's go, Yin.

Urahara smirked: Holding hands? That's some friend you've got Mr Kurosaki.

Ichigo: She's blind.

Urahara: Oh…wait a minute, then how did she get to this shop by herself yesterday?

But Ichigo was already gone.

At the Kurosaki household 

Ichigo: When you said meeting, I didn't expect the whole gang, dad. And since when was Captain Kuchiki able to conference with us through the internet?

In the living room, facing a laptop, were Ichigo's whole family and Ryuken Ishida. Byakuya was also present, through video conferencing on the laptop.

Isshin: Haha, I told him about it some years ago, he then came to the real world to get himself a laptop. He showed it to Kurotsuchi Mayuri of the Research and Development Bureau, who modified it to work in Soul Society. He also provided a private link to the Soul Phone network, so Byakuya is able to give us private video conferences. Well then let us begin the meeting.

Ryuken: Have you done it?

Byakuya: Yes, we have. Rukia's soul contains the fake. The real one has been sealed away permanently. We have left it in the severed world in the path through the Senkai gate. A careless way, but the cleaner is on tonight, it will destroy the Hogyoku.

Ichigo: Things are okay on my end as well. I have temporarily lost my powers, but I can regain them through Urahara's training. Also, this way, Rukia can regain her powers faster. Mr Ishida, your son was also hurt in the battle yesterday, but he's perfectly fine now. Urahara patched us both up.

Ryuken: It does not matter, as long as he's fine. I understand you had to do it for the sake of the mission.

Isshin: Alright then, all that remains now is to enter Soul Society and save Rukia. Please do make sure to act inexperienced during Urahara's training, Ichigo. We can't have him knowing about our plan yet.

Ichigo: You got it. Although that pervert is so irritating…It's going to be tough keeping up my façade.

Yuzu: You're gonna get hurt again aren't you, bro?

Ichigo: Yeah, it can't be helped. But don't worry. I'll cope. I won't die or get too seriously injured or anything.

The three men smiled slightly at the concern of the siblings, then said goodbye and left, since the meeting was over.

The next day 

Urahara: Welcome, Mr Kurosaki! Let us begin the training now, shall we?

They went down to the basement, and Ichigo completed the first test, which was to keep up with Ururu. After regaining his spiritual energy through this method, he was thrown into the Shattered Shaft. He was in a genuine panic. He didn't know how to regain his Shinigami powers just like that. His soul chain was also starting to erode. He did the only thing he knew might work-He decided to ask Zangetsu. He quickly concentrated, and found his inner world and his Zanpakuto spirit inside.

Ichigo: Hey Zangetsu, what do I do now? I don't know how to regain my Shinigami powers.

Zangetsu: There's only one way. It is only possible to regain Shinigami powers in a short time at the precipice of turning into a hollow. At that point, this world will start to collapse and disintegrate. At that point, you can find your Shinigami powers.

Ichigo: OK…and when is that?

Zangetsu started to answer, but then suddenly, a box fell past Ichigo and Zangetsu, and the sideways world started righting itself.

Zangetsu said grimly: It has started.

Ichigo immediately cast out his senses. The entire inside world was homogeneous, but there was one part that had a different feel to it. Ichigo immediately flash stepped toward the irregularity, and found a box. Opening it, he found the hilt of a Zanpakuto inside.

Ichigo: This must be it!

And he grasped the hilt and pulled it out with ease.

In the real world, a great, evil spiritual energy was being given off inside the shaft. Ichigo was turning into a hollow. Tessai prepared to eliminate him, but in a burst of energy, Ichigo burst out of the shaft and landed on the basement floor, kicking up a lot of dust.

Soon, he reappeared, and took off the mask on his face, to reveal that he was a Shinigami, and not a hollow.

They went on to the third exercise. Ichigo found it a joke that Urahara was asking him to knock off his hat as a way of discovering his Zanpakuto's name. He let Urahara play around a while to maintain secrecy around his true skills, and then released his Zanpakuto. He had already spoken to Zangetsu earlier and asked him to remain in Shikai form to maintain his unable-to-control-his-own-power façade.

Soon, training ended. In Urahara's opinion, Ichigo was prepared to go to Soul Society, but not prepared to fight captains or even Vice Captains.

Seven days passed by, with Ichigo staying at home or watching Inoue and Sado train with their newfound powers while Urahara prepared the Senkai gate with spirit exchangers for the humans. Ichigo was surprised that Sado and Inoue would bother to risk their lives, and had objected, but seeing that their minds were made up, he welcomed their help and thanked them for it.

Right now, he was in an abandoned warehouse watching on as his two friends trained. Ishida would have accompanied him there, but he was doing his own training. Inoue soon ran out of energy and resealed her powers in the form of her hairclips, and bent over, panting.

Ichigo: You alright?

Inoue immediately flushed and stammered a positive reply. Ichigo then started thinking about her powers. Earlier, he had decided to test the power. He had used a permanent marker to make a small, innocent mark on his arm, and then deliberately made a cut on the arm such that the mark was partially gone.

When the black cat he had seen earlier, who he realized was actually able to talk, and had the name "Yoruichi", saw the cut, "he" (Yoruichi, since she sounds like a man, while in cat form) had ordered Inoue to use her powers to heal the cut, to test the powers. Ichigo observed that the permanent marker mark reappeared on his skin, and then disappeared altogether, after the skin healed.

He had to endure some teasing from Yoruichi for "accidentally" cutting his own skin, but he now knew that Inoue's powers were not healing, but actually a way of reversing damage to the body. Perhaps, even, it was a power meant to completely reject events. Marvelling at the extent of such a power, he thanked a blushing Inoue, and left to go home, although his intention was really to see Ishida and give him a report on the meeting that had happened at his house the day before his training started

Ishida: I see. Is there anything else I should know?

Ichigo: Yeah. Byakuya's keeping his promise to keep your involvement with our secret group a secret between the three of us. Inoue and Sado have been training with their own powers. Inoue's powers are quite impressive. She seems to have the power to reverse damage of any kind to the body. I wouldn't be surprised if her power if actually to reject events, and to reverse them altogether.

Ishida: Wow, that's really something. Anyway, thanks for keeping me updated.

Ichigo: No problem. Besides, if I don't we'd screw up the mission. Well then, I'll leave you to your training. Catch you later.

Ishida: Yeah, bye.

End Chapter 5

Author's note: And thus Chapter 5 ends! Ichigo's "training" is complete, and next chapter, which will be posted at the same time as this chapter, will be about Ichigo's trip to Soul Society.


	6. Chapter 6

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 6

Hello! Welcome to chapter 6, in which Ichigo enters Soul Society. Previously, he completed the training (which he did not actually need, except for the special training he underwent to regain his Shinigami powers). This story picks up from the day when Ichigo and his friends left for Soul Society through the Senkai gate.

The day of departure

Seven days had passed, and everyone was gathered in the basement. After receiving their instructions from Urahara, they ran through the severed world. The cleaner showed up as well, but luckily, or heroes outran it. Seeing _slightly_ less of a need to act the part of a headstrong teenager, Ichigo followed Yoruichi's instructions and helped to find Kuukaku's house instead of running towards the gate and setting off alarms.

The usual drama happened at Kuukaku's house, with Ganju, with whom they had a run-in earlier, trying to attack Ichigo. The orange head had no intention of dealing with him, so he quickly knocked him out with a well placed strike. Kuukaku didn't mind either-since she usually would do the same thing, albeit more sadistically.

With that, Yoruichi asked Kuukaku to help them get into Seireitei. Kuukaku agreed to help, and explained the procedure to them. She then gave each of them a spirit orb and told them to practise forming a large reishi orb around them. The group of students went downstairs to a lower room to practise.

Ichigo, having been trained in kido by his father during his 3-year Shinigami arts training course, quickly grasped the concept of creating a reishi orb around himself, and got it on his third try. Ishida was an expert on controlling reishi, so he too got it easily, on his second try. He, however, had to examine the ball for quite a while, noting the structure of its reishi, and the spiritual pressure it emanated, before forming the orb around himself.

Sado and Inoue had trouble, as the entire concept was new to them. However, soon they got it as well. Then they went for dinner.

The next day, the launching was to take place. The team, along with Ganju, shot themselves to Seireitei, however, Ganju screwed up the incantation he was meant to recite along the way, leading to Plan B. They hardened the ball for impact with the barrier surrounding Seireitei, and went flying their separate directions. Ichigo ended up with Ganju, and Ishida with Inoue, while Sado and Yoruichi ended up by themselves on separate parts of the Seireitei.

Upon landing, Ganju used his elemental spells to create a sandpit to soften their blow. As soon as he landed, Ichigo tensed, then relaxed. There were two Shinigami close by. They were definitely ranking officers, but still nothing to worry about. Soon, just as he thought, the two had found them.

Shinigami #1 (Ikkaku): Hey Yumichika, look! The intruders fell right into our hands! How lucky we are!

Shinigami #2 (Yumichika): Indeed, Ikkaku. Wow, those two seem to have had an ugly fall.

Ichigo stood up while Ganju remained in the sand, frozen in place.

Ichigo: Well hello there guys. You see, I'm new here, and I don't know this place very well. Could you kindly point me in the direction of the Senzaikyu?

Ikkaku: You trying to be funny with us, ryoka bastard? We'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!

Ichigo: Very well soldier, I accept your invitation to battle.

Ikkaku: ….Say what?

Ichigo: Alright, let me put it in simple terms so an imbecile like you can understand. _Bring it, bastard._

Ganju: Are you out of your mind, Ichigo? That guy is the third seat of Squad 11! That's the most bloodthirsty squad among all the squads! He could easily tear us to pieces!

Ichigo: Run if you want. I'm staying put and fighting.

Ganju: Fine! I don't care if you're suicidal or not, I'm running!

Immediately, he ran, followed by Yumichika.

Ichigo: Looks like it's just the two of us now.

Ikkaku: You bastard…you're gonna pay for that comment earlier!

Ichigo: Make me.

And the two fought. After trading blows for a while, Ikkaku had some cuts, while Ichigo was unmarked, deliberately holding back so as to be able to get some information out of him after the fight.

Ikkaku: Wow, you're rather strong. Time for me to get serious! Grow, Hozukimaru!

The bald man (oh, sorry, the man with a shaved head) released his Zanpakuto, and charged straight at Ichigo. Ichigo quickly dodged the first thrust of the spear.

Ichigo: You're open!

Ikkaku: Oh really? Split, Hozukimaru!

Ichigo: "Split"?

The shaft of Hozukimaru then split into three sections connected by chains. The sections surrounded Ichigo, and to the orange-head's surprise, almost cut him. Ichigo quickly jumped back, and decided to end things quickly. Using the miniature grappling hook device that he had thought to bring along to Soul Society, he shot a cable that wrapped it self around Ikkaku's neck. Before the bald man could cry out in surprise, Ichigo made his move.

Ichigo _Hado # 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!_

An electric current flowed through the metal cable and to Ikkaku's neck, immediately knocking him out.

A few minutes later, Ikkaku came to. He opened his eyes to see Ichigo sitting nearby.

Ikkaku: Why you dirty cheating bastard!

Ichigo: Sorry, but I had to do it. I'm here for a purpose, and that purpose is not to fight any and every Shinigami here. Tell me: Where is the Senzaikyu?

Ikkaku: Like I'll tell you!

Ichigo glared at him, then applied another electric shock. This was not enough to knock him out, but enough to cause him pain.

Ichigo: If you think about it rationally, there's only one thing to do for you now, and that is to let me go, and point me in the right direction. After all, sooner or later, the Captains and Lieutenants will find me out and kill me, right?

Ikkaku: You sound awfully confident. Wait til you meet my captain. He'll definitely beat you and tear you to pieces. I should go report to him as soon as I get healed. He'll enjoy fighting you for sure. Anyway, Senzaikyu is the white tower in the middle of Seireitei. It's thin, with a pointy top and is made of lethality stone.

Ichigo: Thanks for the directions.

The orange head then left. Soon, he got back to Ganju, who had somehow defeated Yumichika. However, Ganju made such a ruckus, that several Shinigami ran out and started charging at them. Soon, they were surrounded. But then, one rather feminine looking (male) Shinigami happened to fall out of the crowd and near the ryoka. The lone Shinigami was rather clueless and clumsy. Immediately, Ichigo decided to take him as a hostage, but when that did not work, because of the animosity between the Shinigami, the two ryoka went into the sewer system with the hostage in tow.

Ichigo: Alright Ganju. I have the directions to Senzaikyu. It's a white tower with a pointy top, and it's at the centre of the Seireitei. Rukia's there. We have to get there with a key if we want to break her out of there.

Hostage: Hey you two, did you just say Rukia?

Ichigo: Yeah, do you know something? What's your name anyway?

Hostage: Umm my name's Hanataro Yamada. I'm from Squad 4, and I used to be in charge of cleaning Rukia's cell in prison. We used to talk when I cleaned there, and she told me a lot about a man named Ichigo Kurosaki she met in the living world. That's you right?

Ichigo: Yeah, that's me. We're trying to rescue Rukia because she's a friend of ours.

Hanataro: Then let me help you! I know these sewers pretty well and I can guide you to the Senzaikyu.

Ichigo: That would be much appreciated.

Soon the trio exited the sewers. Ichigo sensed a familiar spiritual pressure. There was no doubt about it. Vice Captain Renji Abarai was nearby. He immediately told the two others to stand back.

Renji: So…you've come back, Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ichigo: Yeah, I have, Renji Abarai.

Renji: You sure pulled a fast one on me back in the world of the living. But be prepared! I'm five times stronger here than I was in the living world.

Ichigo: You're telling me your strength has grown five times in 19 days? That sounds like a childish threat to me.

Hanataro: Actually, he's right. Lieutenants always have a limiter placed on them when they enter the living world. The limiter seals away 80% of their power, so he really is 5 times stronger now than in the living world!

Renji: So the reports were true, a Shinigami was indeed taken hostage. But to think he went of his own free will…Despicable bastard…

Ichigo: You seemed to know Rukia personally, from what I've heard. How come you're so adamant that she be executed?

Renji: Shut your trap! Howl, Zabimaru!

Ichigo coldly fought back, on an equal level with Renji, much to Ganju and Hanataro's amazement. The swords clashed, and Renji occasionally shouted to Ichigo that he was not going to succeed, and that the Captains would certainly put Rukia to death. Ichigo soon decided that he was not going to listen to Renji's babble any longer, and decided to deal the incapacitating blow.

Ichigo: Getsuga Tensho!

Everything became bright blue and white momentarily, before the light dispersed, to reveal a bloodstained Renji, and a large crack in the ground caused by Ichigo's attack.

Renji fell

_Dammit…I lost… _

End Chapter 6

Renji is defeated. Ichigo now has to face the dreaded Kenpachi himself. Will Ichigo survive against such an enemy, even with his great training? Stay tuned to find out more!


	7. Chapter 7

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 7

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have said "Will Ichigo survive against such an enemy [referring to Kenpachi], even with his great training?" in the last chapter. If, in the official storyline, Ichigo can beat Kenpachi with ten days of training and just his Shikai…He should be perfectly capable of beating Kenpachi with his 6-year training in this storyline right? Oh, and Ichigo has already bonded closely with Zangetsu already, so the two trust each other implicitly in battle. However, Ichigo has yet to meet his inner hollow and learn bankai.

Oh, and another disclaimer: I do not own James Bond (there will be some references later)

_Previously_, Ichigo and the gang enter Soul Society to rescue Rukia (explicit motive)! And also to see Aizen's public betrayal through, and to ensure he receives the fake Hogyoku (Ichigo, Ishida and Byakuya's ulterior motive), and if possible, to kill Aizen (optional objective). Ichigo fights Renji and beats him easily.

Story Proper

Renji, after losing, has a flashback of his days in Rukongai with Rukia, and decides that he wants to see Rukia live after all. He walks over to Ichigo and begs him to save her, before passing out.

Ichigo: What a hypocrite. He's lived so long, and he still doesn't have his priorities in order. But at least it's good to see he's awoken now. He's finally placing importance on his friends rather on his work. I will save Rukia, sure. But I'm not doing it for you, it's for the mission.

Obviously, he had spoken the last part quietly, out of earshot of Hanataro and Ganju.

Ichigo: Ganju, Hanataro, I'm going ahead. There's a Captain ahead of us, one with an immense reiatsu. I have to deal with him in order to get to the Senzaikyu. You guys stay right here. Hanataro, please heal Renji; he could be of help to us in the future.

Ganju: A Captain? Look, you may just have defeated a lieutenant, but Captains are many times more powerful than them! You'd be really insane to go up against one of them.

Ichigo: I'm ignoring your babble, Ganju. Hanataro, please heal Renji. Once the Captain has been defeated, I'll send out three consecutive pulses of my reiatsu. That's your signal to move on to the Senzaikyu.

Ganju immediately started to protest, but stopped, as they felt a distant, but large reiatsu. Ichigo stepped up to a nearby rooftop to observe. Immediately, he saw something that surprised him.

Ichigo: In the distance…there's a giant caterpillar! It looks like it's got a golden baby's face though…And the other reiatsu…it's Ishida's! Wow, he must really have trained hard to have grown his power so much.

Ganju: Is that your four-eyed friend? You sure he'll be alright?

Ichigo: Yeah, he's good, he can take care of himself. Now stay put!

And with that, Ichigo was off to defeat the Captain. Not wanting to waste time exchanging threats and introductions, Ichigo jumped to the roof of the building straight away, and found the Captain with the crazy spiky hairstyle on top, looking slightly surprised. Immediately, he launched into the attack, and pushed Kenpachi back several metres with the first strike.

Kenpachi: Haha, I didn't think you'd try to take me on alone, but with your strength, you might give me a good fight!

Ichigo: I've no time to waste. Let me pass, or face the consequences!

Kenpachi: Let you pass? How can I, when it's just gotten _so damn fun!_

Blades clashed, and Kenpachi's excited cries rang out, with each wound Ichigo inflicted on him.

Kenpachi: You're certainly a strong one! I'll have to go all out for this!

And he took off his eye patch. After flaunting his reiatsu, he struck out. Ichigo went flying backwards and lost consciousness.

Kenpachi: Done already? Tch, what a buzz kill.

The 11th Division Captain started walking off. Meanwhile, Ichigo found himself in his Inner World. Facing him were Zangetsu, and another unknown person. Upon closer inspection, the person was seen to look exactly like Ichigo, but had white hair, greyish-white skin and dark blue irises on black sclera.

Zangetsu: Welcome back to your inner world, Ichigo. That strike from Zaraki was enough to knock you out, but it was not enough to defeat you. I brought you here, as we have time, to meet a new member of our soul. This is an inner Hollow, and his presence here makes you a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid.

Ichigo: How come I never realized this? How long has he been here?

Inner Hollow: Ever since you almost turned into a Hollow at the shaft thing, _partner_.

Ichigo: So now, I can use hollow abilities? Like cero?

Inner Hollow: Yeah, but you're gonna have to prove yourself worthy to learn first!

Ichigo wasn't in the mood for games. When the Inner Hollow came rushing at him, with his own inverted-colours version of Zangetsu's Shikai, Ichigo immediately blocked with his sword, then placed his hand on the blunt edge of his sword.

Ichigo: _Hado # 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!_

An electric current flowed through the blades, and stunned the Hollow. When he recovered seconds later, his blade had been knocked away, and Ichigo's blade was at his neck.

Ichigo: Know your place, Hollow. I'm the master of this power. You will never be able to take that authority from me.

Inner Hollow: Alright, you win. You're the king of the inner world for now. I'll lend you my powers! It's good to know you'll actually be able to use them well. You're worthy of leading me in battle.

Ichigo: That's good to hear. What's your name anyway?

Inner Hollow: I dunno…I never had one.

Ichigo: Well, what do you want to be called anyway?

Inner Hollow: Let's see…how about…James Bond!

Ichigo rolled his eyes. The Hollow must have had access to his memories, and recalled the memory of his reading James Bond books when he was younger.

Ichigo: That's crazy….

Inner Hollow: Ok, what about David Somerset?

Ichigo: That's a alias used by James Bond himself…ok whatever, use it if you want.

David: Great! You can count on the two of us to shake and stir your enemies, Ichigo!

The orange-head and Zangetsu rolled their eyes, and Ichigo was sent back out of his inner world.

Ichigo: Hold it right there, Kenpachi!

Time runs very quickly in a Shinigami's inner world. An hour passed by the Shinigami in his inner world can equal to a second or less passed in the world around him. Ichigo spent a short time in his Inner World, so very little time has passed in the world around him. Kenpachi isn't even gone yet. The massive Captain turned around in surprise, and then laughed.

Kenpachi: So you're still not dead! Looks like I can have fun a while more!

Ichigo: Not gonna happen!

And Ichigo quickly dodged Kenpachi's slashes, and donned his mask. He moved so fast the whole time that Kenpachi did not have time to see the mask, or sense the change in reiatsu. Ichigo plunged a reiatsu-hardened fist into Kenpachi's abdomen, in a non-lethal manner, and then made his mask disappear. He then administered an electric shock to Kenpachi to knock him out.

Ichigo looked around and sensing a familiar reiatsu, called out.

Ichigo: Come out, Yoruichi!

The cat flash stepped towards him in surprise.

Yoruichi: How did you beat a captain of that strength so fast? How did you manage to sense me? And why did your reiatsu change just then?

Ichigo: Is there any hideout nearby? Let's go there first, and then I'll answer your questions.

Yoruichi: Ok then…

They came to the hideout embedded in Sokyoku hill and hid inside.

Ichigo: Alright, to answer your questions earlier…You've underestimated my abilities. And my reiatsu changed because of this.

Ichigo facepalmed, and formed his mask. His eyes turned black and dark blue. His reiatsu also changed. It was now colder, and was masked, but still very high.

Yoruichi: You're a hybrid? I knew something was wrong with you after Kisuke's training!

Immediately, Yoruichi transformed back to her human form and prepared to fight Ichigo.

Ichigo: Hold your horses, Yoruichi! I'm in control. [Ichigo unmasks] And put on some clothes for God's sake!

Yoruichi: Oh, you're in control…that's good to hear. We can't have our trump card turning into a Hollow. But anyways…you're such a prude, Ichigo!

Ichigo: Shut up Yoruichi! Anyway, you're going to train me now aren't you? To take on the likes of Byakuya Kuchiki?

Yoruichi: Yeah I am. For that, you must learn Bankai.

Ichigo feigned ignorance, and Yoruichi explained. Ichigo already knew about Bankai and Shikai, and Zangetsu had told him during the last time they talked, that he was very close to achieving the final form of his Zanpakuto. This was the final push to reach Bankai.

He could sense that Ganju and Hanataro had at that point reached Rukia's cell in Senzaikyu. Byakuya was also there, and so was another Captain. Never mind. As long as Byakuya was there, Ganju, Hanataro and Rukia would be fine. He did not need to intervene.

Instead, he spent his time learning Bankai through Yoruichi and Urahara's method, and achieved it within three days. Renji dropped in halfway, and also learned his Bankai at the same time. He left, but also bore news that Rukia's execution had been rescheduled.

Ichigo reflected about this for a while. Aizen had faked his death even before he had fought Renji. He must have been hiding in the Central 46's headquarters. Killing Central 46 would also have been a necessary step for Aizen to cripple Soul Society through the annihilation of the government.

Rukia's execution had been moved up, so that Aizen could get the Hogyoku faster, and leave sooner. But the execution would soon be stopped. His bankai had been learned. It was unnecessary in the very short run, but would help in future situations, especially if he was to fight captain-level opponents. Everything was falling in place. He decided to leave. He had an execution to stop, after all.

Renji had tried running to Sokyoku hill to stop the execution himself, as Ichigo had not learnt his Bankai yet, as far as he knew. Soon, a heavy spiritual pressure came down on him.

Renji: That reiatsu…It's Captain Kuchiki!

Byakuya: Renji. Are you going to stop the execution?

Renji: Y-YEAH I AM! Get out of my way, or I'll force you to move.

Then, there was silence. The tension was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife, as the expression goes. After an intense staring competition, Byakuya relaxed.

Byakuya: You're a fool, Renji. Go ahead, I won't stop you. But as a piece of advice-_You'd be better off leaving this to the pros_.

Renji stared at the leaving Captain in shock, then quickly remembered why he was there, and ran off to Sokyoku hill.

At Sokyoku hill 

Byakuya arrived at the hill soon after all the other captains were assembled. He reflected in his thoughts on how slow Renji was that he couldn't even make it to Sokyoku before his Captain, even with a head start. The Commander ordered the execution to begin, and that's when the chaos started.

After the Sokyoku was released, it tried to attack Rukia, but the attack was blocked by Ichigo with his single Zanpakuto, to everyone's surprise. And then Ukitake appeared, and together with Kyouraku, he destroyed the Sokyoku with a special device. _And then _Renji made his grand appearance. How uncool of his lieutenant.

All the captains started dispersing. Kyouraku and Ukitake ran for it along with Nanao. Yamamoto chased them. Soifon had been dragged off the hill by her former mentor Yoruichi (whose appearance was a major unpleasant surprise to Byakuya). The lieutenants present had been knocked out by Ichigo, and were picked up by Unohana, who then flew away on the stingray creature created by her Zanpakuto. Only Rukia, Renji, Ichigo and Byakuya were on the hill. Ichigo held Rukia and flash-stepped over to Renji and handed her over.

Ichigo: Get out of here, Renji.

Renji: Like hell I will! I came here to fight my captain and prove my superiority over him!

Ichigo: Superiority? You get here long after he did, even though you had a head start. That's your superiority?

Renji turned as red as his hair.

Renji: Why you-

He fell flat on his face. He looked up in shock at his captain, who had tripped him as he ran towards Ichigo.

Byakuya: This is exactly what I meant when I told you to leave it to the pros Renji. My fight is with the Kurosaki boy. You have no place here.

Rukia watched on dumbfounded at the men. Hadn't her brother promised to kill her with his own hands even if the execution failed to happen? What was going on? Was she being given a second chance?

Ichigo: Take Rukia and run, Renji!

Renji: Yeah whatever!

And he took Rukia in his arms and ran. Byakuya and he then clashed swords, mildly fighting until Renji and Rukia were out of sight. The two then relaxed.

Byakuya: Alright, now they're gone. Aizen will soon reveal himself, and we'll try to make our move. What do you say we must do?

Ichigo: We can't risk him using his Shikai. I think I shall suppress my true powers, so he'll defeat me quickly but not release his sword.

Byakuya: Now we have some free time on our hands. What do we do now?

Ichigo: How about a training spar? I just got my Bankai, and I'd like to train with it.

Byakuya: Very well. Bankai.

Ichigo: Bankai!

And the two powerful fighters sparred, while observers would have thought they were really fighting, from the reiatsu that was flying around.

Meanwhile in another part of Seireitei 

"Captain Unohana, look, it's Captain Aizen, resurrected!"

"How is this possible?"

Aizen: Allow me to explain, Captain Unohana. My Zanpakuto's powers are basically…..

And Aizen did his explanation, and then left for Sokyoku hill. Isane immediately used a tracking spell to locate him, and broadcast the location using another binding spell to all the high ranking officers as well as the ryoka.

At the same time, Kaname Tosen found Renji and Rukia and used another spell to teleport the three of them to Sokyoku hill.

At the same time, Inoue, Ishida and the others had regrouped, and were on the other end of Sokyoku, rushing towards Ichigo and the others.

Three groups of people converged on Sokyoku hill, to find Ichigo and Byakuya…sitting at a table and playing a very civilized game of chess.

Ichigo: Ummmm….this isn't what it looks like?

Everyone else: ….

Even Aizen's jaw had dropped at the sight of the two "mortal enemies" playing chess like old friends.

Byakuya: Checkmate. You lose yet again, Ichigo.

Ichigo: ….Alright put that board away, we've got more important matters on our hands.

Immediately, the two rushed Aizen while suppressing their powers so as to not give Aizen a reason to release his Zanpakuto. Needless to say, they lost. Painfully.

Aizen: So weak that I did not even need to use my Zanpakuto's powers! Chess is certainly a great game, one of the great things that the lowly humans somehow created. But being good at the game does not help you win battles, fools!

With that, Aizen walked over to Rukia, and launched into his intellectual discussion about the four main Shinigami arts, and how normal Shinigami could only go so far with those skills. And then someone else stepped into Sokyoku hill.

Komamura: AIZEN!

Aizen: What an annoying distraction. Hado #90: Black Coffin.

The massive fox-like captain fell flat on his face.

Ichigo: Wow…

Byakuya: That's a really gay skill…

Aizen: Gay? All the training I put in, and you call it "gay"?

Byakuya: Well… meant "gay" as in "really good"

Aizen: Oh…I see. Well, as I was saying…

Ichigo rolled his eyes at the aspiring god's boring speech.

Aizen: So, there's this powerful object created by Kisuke Urahara. This object is the Hogyoku, and it can break down the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollows. In other words, it can create powerful hybrids. Watch on, fools, as I take this godlike power for myself!

And with that, he used his non-lethal technique to extract the Hogyoku from Rukia's soul. He commented on its size and put it into his pocket.

But at that moment-

Yoruichi: That's as far as you go, Aizen!

Soifon: One false move and you lose your head!

Yoruichi and Soifon caught Aizen, with Soifon placing her sword at her throat, and Yoruichi preventing Aizen from drawing his sword. Seconds later, all the high-ranking Shinigami who were able to make it appeared at the scene. Yamamoto struck the ground with his cane, obviously intending to pass his divine judgment upon Aizen and his merry men, but then, _the skies split apart_.

Dozens of Menos Grande were in the newly opened Garganta in the sky. Negacion pillars descended upon Aizen and his guys, saving them from the Shinigami and bringing them to Hueco Mundo.

Aizen: Now, watch on fools, as I become a God! [Insert evil laughter here]

Ichigo, out of Aizen's sight, looked over at Byakuya and Ishida, and smirked. The idiot had taken the fake Hogyoku, and fallen for their little trick.

[I'd stop at this point…but I really want to end the Soul Society arc with this chapter. It's quite short, so sorry about that, but I really want to move on with the next few arcs. So I'll continue!]

Right after Aizen left 

Random Shinigami #1: I can't believe that bastard Aizen has been pulling the wool over our eyes like that for so long!

Random Shinigami #2: Yeah! We gotta train hard and kill him!

Random Shinigami #3: Yeah right! That guy's a captain, and he's got that insanely powerful hogyoku thing with him now. How's a weakling like you gonna beat him?

Komamura: I'm fine…go treat the others!

Medic: Don't overdo it, Captain Komamura!

Unohana: It looks like the ryoka don't need our help…

And so on and so forth. Ichigo had revealed his hollow powers to the Shinigami, and used those powers to heal himself as well. Yamamoto had decided to overlook the fact that Ichigo had those powers, in light of recent events, and since Ichigo had proved himself to be a valuable ally of Soul Society.

Luckily, the chess match had been completely forgotten in the chaos, and the board had mysteriously vanished from the hill. Rukia was spending her time fretting over her dear brother and his injuries, and scolding Ichigo for his recklessness. Ichigo was heard muttering "Double standards….." and Ishida laughed at him.

One week later 

Byakuya, Ichigo and Ishida met up in a special room at the Kuchiki estate. Inside were Byakuya's laptop and a screen. Byakuya set up a connection to the Kurosaki household in the real world, and soon, they were able to talk to the Kurosaki family and Yin and Ryuken Ishida.

Ryuken: Uryu? Since when were you a part of this?

Uryu: Oh, hi dad…..Sorry I never told you about this earlier…but I've been a part of this group since the day I challenged Ichigo. Mr Kuchiki and Ichigo both knew, but don't blame them. I personally requested them not to tell you all.

Ryuken: Well, I'm not happy that you decided to keep this a secret from me, but it's fine. It's always better knowing the bitter truth rather than staying in ignorance. I'm personally glad you decided to join. It's the honourable choice, I believe.

Uryu: Thanks dad.

Byakuya: Alright then, let us begin. Aizen has fallen for it. He has the fake.

Isshin, Karin and Yuzu cheered, while Ryuken simply smiled, and Yin remained expressionless as always.

Ichigo: Well then, I suppose that means that I won't have to pretend so much anymore. Most of my friends can keep the secret within themselves. I might tell them, as well as Urahara and the others when I reach the living world.

Isshin: Sounds good. Oh, and by the way, I've regained my Shinigami powers! Oh, it feels so good to be alive now!

Ichigo: How ironic that the Death God feels so alive…Well anyway, that's all we have. Anything else?

Isshin: Nope. You guys have a safe trip back home, and don't be late for dinner, Ichigo, or I'll personally kick your ass!

Ichigo: Whatever, dad.

And Ishida and Ichigo left the room after thanking Byakuya for letting them use the room.

That night, they had a noisy dinner at the Shiba household, where Ganju kept trying to get Ichigo to spill his secret on how he managed to beat a captain like Zaraki, to no avail.

Ichigo also talked privately to Ishida about the loss of his Quincy powers, but Ishida reassured him that his father was able to restore those powers, and could do so, when he reached the human world.

Everything was in order to leave. The Senkai gate was set up, and Ichigo, still keeping up his act, bid goodbye to Rukia, and left. They ended up getting chased by the cleaner again, but Inoue, Sado and Yoruichi noticed something odd-Ichigo and Ishida knew something they didn't.

Ishida: Not that good-for-nothing cleaner again!

Ichigo: hey, don't knock it! That cleaner removed a major source of our problems!

Ishida: O yeah, I forgot about that…but it's still irritating!

Soon, they emerged from the gate into the real world-out of the air a long way from the ground. Luckily, Urahara was prepared for their arrival, and soon, they were on a flying carpet.

Urahara: Welcome back, everyone! As a reward for your hard work in Soul Society, I'll give you a free ride home.

Ichigo: Stop messing around, Mr Urahara…

Urahara: That's right; I've really screwed up good. I'm truly, truly sorry, Mr Kurosaki.

Looking at the shopkeeper, who was in a rare moment of seriousness, and was actually apologising for his terrible invention, Ichigo and the others were unnerved for a few moments. Then Ishida and Ichigo smirked at one another.

Ichigo: Actually…you really did screw up good…but still…no harm done!

Urahara: Huh?

Ichigo: Sorry everyone, I know everyone's dying to get home and all, but we have something important to tell you all. Urahara, to the shop please.

Urahara: Err, well ok then.

Sado: Wait, you said "_we_ have something important to tell…" who exactly is "we"?

Ichigo said casually: Ishida and me.

And he ignored their surprised faces.

Soon, they reached the shop.

Ichigo: Ok, explanations time, but first…

He drew his sword, and attacked the surprised Urahara.

Urahara: Hey, what do you think you're doing?

Ichigo smirked cruelly: You may have helped me regain my powers, but you sure put me through hell back there. Because of you, I'm a hybrid. That's all fine now, but still unexpected, and could have been disastrous. You also certainly put me through the grinder with that training. There's no way I'm just gonna sit still and ignore all that. I can assure you, at the end of this spar, you'll be left _shaken and stirred_

Urahara: Oh dam-

Ishida turned to the surprised onlookers.

Ishida: What he means is that he wants to show his true strength, which he has been hiding for a while now.

Inoue: I don't get it. Why would he need to act weak?

Ishida: You'll soon see…

End Chapter 7

And thus ends the super long chapter! Well, super long compared to the other chapters, that is. Anyway, some things you've gotta know: First of all, Ichigo's inner hollow has already submitted to Ichigo, and lends him his strength. His name is David Somerset, which is an alias of James Bond himself. I know it's quite lame, but I think it's better than the overused Hichigo, Shirosaki, etc.

Also, I said there will be no romance in this fic, but there will be some one-sided crushes, that do not matter to the plot line-Inoue and Rukia have one-sided crushes toward Ichigo, and Renji has a one-sided crush on Rukia. Ishida used to have a one-sided crush on Inoue, but he stopped, after getting to know her better. But he still considers her a close friend.

Ichigo has no crushes whatsoever. Very few people actually can be truly considered his friends and loved ones. These "friends and loved ones" are the ones he will truly give his life to protect.

Oh, and I may seem like a person who enjoys bashing certain characters, like Renji. However, that's not true. I dislike character bashing for no reason. But I couldn't resist teasing the clueless red pineapple who thought he could beat Byakuya that early, hehe.

So, I'll end off Chapter 7 here! The next chapter will go straight to the Arrancar arc, skipping the Bount arc. Ichigo's true power and skills will be revealed to more people (but these people will not join the Kurosaki Group, which is somewhat exclusive :D)


	8. Chapter 8

Cruel to be kind Chapter 8

_Previously,_ Ichigo and the others went to Soul Society and rescued Rukia. Aizen successfully retrieved the Hogyoku, but, unknown to him, it's a fake. Isshin has finally recovered his Shinigami powers. Ichigo and the others return to the living world, where Ichigo is about to tell Urahara about the switching of the Hogyoku. But before that Ichigo wishes to spar with (cough abuse cough) Urahara.

**Notice: **Oh, and another thing, in the previous chapter, I stated that Sado and Inoue were with Ichigo when he sparred with Urahara. But, that's a mistake on my part. In this chapter, those two will **not** be here. They will not get to know the secrets that Ichigo reveals to Urahara and his partners at the shop.

Story Proper

Urahara: _Hado #32: Oukasen_!

Ichigo easily avoided the yellow energy blast and escaped using his grappling hook. As soon as he was safe, he saw Urahara preparing to fire another fire-based Kido at him. He decided to use the strongest spell he knew.

Ichigo: _Hyouga Seiran! _

Ice flowed from Ichigo's path heading right towards the surprised Urahara.

Urahara: _Hado #63: Soren Soukatsui!_

The ice and fire spells collided, nullifying each other. Urahara's fire lost all its energy, and Ichigo's ice melted. Soon, there was a large puddle on the ground, and both Urahara and Ichigo were standing on it.

Urahara: I don't know where you learnt any kido at all, let alone such a high level skill. But I'm more experienced, so there's no way-

Ichigo: You're open. _Hado #11: Tsuzuri Raiden_!

Electricity flowed from Ichigo's foot, through the water on the ground, and into Urahara's body.

Urahara: _**! **_

And the shopkeeper fell flat on the floor, unconscious. Silence followed.

Yoruichi: Kisuke! Kisuke! Get a hold on yourself! Ichigo, how could-

Ichigo: It's fine, I held back. He'll soon wake up.

And sure enough, Urahara woke up seconds later.

Urahara: Dammit, that hurt! What were you thinking, Mr Kurosaki, lashing out at your great mentor like that….

Ichigo: Shut up, Urahara. Anyway, that was a small taste of my true strength. Now, everyone listen to what I have to say. Aizen has the Hogyoku now, and with it, he'll start churning out Arrancars to crush Soul Society. As long as we can prevent that, we've as good as won the war.

Urahara: How can you say that? Have you any idea of the Hogyoku's true power?

Ichigo: Of course we do. When Captain Kuchiki came to the real world to pick up Rukia, we switched the Hogyoku to a fake one. The fake one can break down the boundaries of Hollow and Shinigami, but that's as far as its powers go. Obviously, that means Byakuya is on our side. This Hogyoku will also decay with usage, so there's only so many Arrancars that Aizen can create before it runs out of power. And after that, Aizen should not have any further tricks up his sleeve. The real one has been destroyed.

Urahara could not believe that something like that had happened right under his nose, without his knowing.

Urahara: But…how on earth…

Ishida: Sorry, Mr Urahara, but we can't give you any further information. There are some leaks in your information, and that's what allowed Aizen to plan his move so well in the first place. Tighten your security, and we'll decide whether or not to give you further information in the future.

Urahara started to protest, but Yoruichi stopped him.

Yoruichi: He's right, Kisuke. As the former head of Covert Operations, that's exactly what I would do. Whoever Ichigo's working for is pretty smart. Anyways, allow us to lend you our strength as well during this war.

Ichigo: That would be much appreciated, especially for the sake of Sado and Inoue. Their powers have yet to mature, and they will need training. Also, here's something else. We have a mole in Hueco Mundo. It seems that Aizen plans to send a scouting force here soon. Their role is probably to monitor my progress. We've already lulled Aizen into a false sense of security with the Hogyoku, to keep him in that state of mind, I'll have to act weak. Sorry, but I'll have to ask you guys to help us out when I start being thrown around like a rag doll by them.

Urahara: Wow, you've thought this out very well, better, even, than me. Alright then. We'll help you out.

The next day at school 

Ms Ochi: Class, today, we have a new student! Come in!

The new student stepped in. He had a smile that exposed his upper jaw, and had blonde hair that came down to his mouth level. He introduced himself as Shinji Hirako.

Immediately, Ichigo and Ishida, whose senses were best among the spiritually aware students (although Ichigo still acted like he was bad at sensing), smelt a rat. There was a bit of hollow reiatsu, and a bit of Shinigami reiatsu, coming off the guy. Bad news.

That night

Ichigo killed a hollow, but was soon accused by another Shinigami who had been assigned to the area, by the name of Kurumadani Zennosuke. And, then he felt someone else arriving- Shinji Hirako.

Ichigo immediately blocked his attack.

Shinji: Ichigo-you're one of us- the Vizards. Join us. You don't belong with the Soul Society.

But, to Shinji's surprise-

Ichigo: Thanks, but I'll have to decline your kind offer. Believe it or not, I have my own agendas, and I've already controlled my inner Hollow. I'd like to ask a favour of you-Please keep out of the way of me and the other Shinigami in this town. We also want to defeat Aizen, just like you guys probably do, and we have no intention of making you guys our enemies. I'll keep your existence a secret from the Shinigami in return.

Shinji: Wow, that's not what I was expecting to hear. But we'll heed you anyway. We'll stay neutral to you guys, and won't get in your ways.

Ichigo: That's much appreciated.

The next day 

Inoue: Oh hi Ishida-kun! Did you see Kurosaki-kun around?

Ishida: Kurosaki? I'm afraid not…

Then suddenly, they felt a large reiatsu from far away. It was hollow-like, but at the same time, it was like a Shinigami's.

Inoue and Sado immediately left to confront the new threat, but told Ishida to stay behind, since he had lost his powers.

Inoue and Sado arrived at the park, to see 2 guys dressed entirely in white. One was really big, more than twice the size of a regular human being, and had something on his chin-it looked like a large lower jaw made of bone attached to his chin. He also had a hole in the middle of his chest, and unexpectedly, a Zanpakuto. His skin was tanned, and he was bald, but had a ponytail at the back of his head

The second guy was of average height, and also had something on his head. It looked like part of a helmet, made of bone. He also had a hole right under the base of his neck. His skin was unnaturally pale, and he had strikingly emerald eyes and green markings on his face-two green lines that ran from his eyes down.

Sado: Who are you guys?

Yammy: Hey Ulquiorra, are these the guys we are looking for?

Ulquiorra: No, they're trash. Kill them if you like.

And Sado and Inoue tried to fight, but they were easily defeated. Then Ichigo came in to save the day! But then, he too got beaten. He did have an appearance to maintain, after all.

As promised, Urahara and Yoruichi came, and saved them, however, before they could properly fight, Yammy and Ulquiorra disappeared through a portal back to Hueco Mundo.

A few days later, after Ichigo has returned to school after healing

Ichigo perked up. Six Shinigami had just entered the town through a Senkai gate. One felt rather icy. He recognized that as the reiatsu of the Tenth Division Captain of the Gotei-13. The others, he recognized as belonging to Ikkaku and Yumichika, as well as one he didn't know. And the other two…Ichigo smirked. They belonged to Rukia and Renji. He reflected that the reiatsu of Rukia, Yumichika and the other unidentified person was low compared to other three.

He felt them come to his school. They must have been equipped with fake bodies from the beginning, but still, their reiatsu shone through, and was easily picked up by Ichigo. The fools. Did they honestly think he wouldn't be able to pick up on their spiritual pressures? Or that Aizen would pick up on their presence and do something about it? Just as he felt them outside the front door of his classroom, and Rukia climbing the wall outside to come through the window, Ichigo masked his reiatsu and quietly slipped outside the back door.

Renji: EHH? He was right here! And he's supposed to suck at hiding his own reiatsu! How could he not be here?

Unidentified reiatsu (Matsumoto): What now, Captain?

Hitsugaya: We could ask his friends…but none of them seem to trust us…..

Rukia, who had been planning to surprise Ichigo by entering through the window, stepped into the classroom to receive any orders from the captain.

Renji immediately grabbed the collar of Ishida, who happened to be in that classroom.

Renji: Hey 4-eyes! Remember me? Where's Ichigo? Tell me now!

Ishida simply readjusted his glasses, and pointed at a point right behind Renji's shoulder.

Renji: Wha…

The next moment, Ichigo's foot slammed into Renji's back and sent him falling-right onto Rukia's small frame.

Rukia: Wha…GET OFF RENJI!

Renji reluctantly did so, spurred on by a series of kicks from the diminutive Shinigami, while Hitsugaya and the others sweat dropped, and wondered how Ichigo had become so good at reiatsu-sensing and reiatsu-masking.

Ikkaku: Hey Ichigo, long time no see.

Ikkaku had initially despised Ichigo because the latter had "fought dirty" in their duel in Soul Society, but after hearing how Ichigo had fairly beaten his captain, he started respecting Ichigo.

Ichigo: Yeah, good to see you again. Is this about the Arrancar threat?

Hitsugaya: Yeah. We've been assigned to protect this town. Judging by your performance, your skills are insufficient for that job.

Ichigo (sarcastically): Said the team leader who allowed Aizen to pick up on his team's presence in the living world, allowing him to prepare sufficiently to deal with you guys later on. Way to go, _Captain_.

Hitsugaya bristled angrily, but then lunch break ended, and they had to return to their respective venues.

Later at Ichigo's house 

Much to Inoue's disappointment, the Shinigami were having a secret meeting in Ichigo's house.

Inoue: Kurosaki-kun is with Rukia and Rangiku…what do I do now…Oh, I know, I'll visit that new ice cream shop with Tatsuki!

And the Shinigami had their meeting in Ichigo's house, where Hitsugaya explained the different classes of Menos and their abilities. Later, it was decided that Rukia would stay with Ichigo (To Rukia's secret delight and Renji's secret disappointment and anger), Matsumoto and Hitsugaya decided to stay with Inoue. Ikkaku and Yumichika decided to make a plan as they went. Rolling his eyes at the rather dysfunctional team, Ichigo accepted the arrangements.

At that moment, Yin walked in, bent down to Ichigo's ear and whispered something, then left the room. Everyone was surprised by her sudden appearance, since they did not know that anyone other than Ichigo and his family lived in the house. As soon as she left-

Rukia: Who was that?

Matsumoto: Hehe, is that your girlfriend Ichigo?

Ikkaku: No wonder she looked so sad…

Ichigo: Shut up, you guys, she's a close friend, but not a lover. And, she's blind, so there's no expression in her eyes.

Hitsugaya: What did she tell you anyway?

Ichigo: Oh, she asked me if you guys were staying for dinner. So? If you want to stay, I'll have to help Yuzu so she can prepare accordingly.

Hitsugaya: No, we'll go now.

Renji was disappointed that he couldn't get a free meal, but followed the orders anyway.

Later that night 

Ichigo reflected upon what Yin had said earlier. She had said that there was news from their mole in Hueco Mundo. Apparently, one of the Espada, which were the ten most powerful Arrancar in Aizen's army, and, sort of, the leaders right under Aizen himself, was unhappy at Ulquiorra's decision to spare Ichigo's life, and planned to come to Karakura Town and kill him personally. The Espada in question was the sixth Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, and could be identified with his blue hair, blue eyes and a jaw-like mask fragment. He also had a large tattoo of the number 6 on his back.

Soon, a heavy reiatsu appeared over the town. The Espada had come to the world of the Living.

End Chapter 8

And thus ends the first chapter of the Arrancar arc! Grimmjow invades Karakura town. How will Ichigo react to this new threat? Will he take it lying down, keeping up his façade? Or will the black moon shine true, and Ichigo's strength reveal itself? Stay tuned to find out more!


	9. Chapter 9

Cruel to be kind Chapter 9

_Previously_, Hitsugaya's advance squad arrives in the real world. Shinji tries to recruit Ichigo, but is politely turned down. Shinji accepts Ichigo's refusal (but will Hiyori?). Ulquiorra and Yammy appear in the world of the living, but Ichigo hides his true strength, making Ulquiorra think that he is weak. Ichigo has a mole in Hueco Mundo, who passes information to him (who's the informant?). He learns that the sixth Espada is coming to the real world to kill him personally, and that this espada is doing so because he thinks Ichigo could be a threat and must be killed, although his true objective is just to fight. And so Grimmjow enters the world of the living to confront Ichigo.

Story proper

Hitsugaya and his team, as well as Sado, Inoue and Ichigo immediately reacted to the reiatsu and rushed to the locations.

Ichigo analysed the situation while moving towards one of the sources of reiatsu alongside Rukia. There were 5 arrancars in total, no, make that 6. One was hiding in the shadows, masking his reiatsu. That one was masking his reiatsu the most. Hitsugaya and his group were dealing with the Arrancars, and Inoue was with Hitsugaya and Matsumoto. She would be safest there. Sado, on the other hand, was trying to fight an Arrancar on his own. It was suicide for him, but Rukia could easily take that sort of a Shinigami.

Ichigo: Rukia, look over there. That Arrancar is weak, but could easily kill Sado, who hasn't recovered from his wounds yet. Strike him with a Level 4 Hado so that his attack never connects. After that, you can take care of him.

Rukia: Oh…ok.

Surprised at his quick, analytical thinking, Rukia performed the attack, which cleanly connected with the Arrancar's wrist, which was almost about to go right through Sado's chest. Ichigo and Rukia then landed next to him from the top of the nearby house.

Ichigo: Sado, let's take a step back; Rukia will take care of this one.

Sado was surprised, but did so. Rukia used her Shikai and killed the arrancar with a single attack. However, then, the arrancar who had been masking his reiatsu stepped out. He had blue hair and blue eyes, and a jaw-like mask. Clearly, he was the espada.

Rukia: Ichigo, run! This guy's on a different level from the others!

Ichigo, however, knew better. He looked at the situation with a calculating eye.

Ichigo: If he's really so strong, running will get us killed just as much as fighting will. You too, run to Inoue's house, and report back to Hitsugaya. I'll handle this one.

Rukia: But-

Ichigo: No arguments. Go now.

Rukia decided to leave. Dragging Sado with her, she left to get to Inoue's place.

Grimmjow: Well, I hope you were the strongest of them all, because I hate fighting weaklings!

And with that he fought Ichigo, who was still using just Shikai. Ichigo had decided to maintain his façade, and so he was losing. Aizen would still have nothing to worry about, and would not know his true strength.

Grimmjow: Tch, is this all you got? What a waste of time!

Soon, there were many large craters on the ground created by Ichigo falling through. Grimmjow and Ichigo then felt another, small, spiritual pressure nearby. He looked at the ground from the air, and noticed a young, silver haired woman nearby. Ichigo was shocked, but decided against looking in the direction, just in case Grimmjow associated her with him and attacked her for it.

No such luck however.

Grimmjow: I told my guys to kill every person with the slightest amount of spiritual energy. It looks like they missed one. Well never mind, I'll kill that b**ch myself!

Ichigo: Hold it!

Too late. Grimmjow's hand, charged with spiritual energy swung around in a wide arc. The wake from the swing was enough to wound Yin. Luckily, the silver haired-woman had taken a step back at the last moment and avoided being slashed by the hand. However, she was still injured by a shallow wound to the chest by the spiritual pressure from the attack.

Grimmjow: Tch, I missed.

Just then, he felt a massive pressure behind him. It was emanating from Ichigo, whose eyes were shadowed. Grimmjow had hurt Yin. "Angry" was an understatement for what Ichigo was feeling.

The whole reason he had entered the mission, and kept his façade, was to kill Aizen, but more importantly to protect those close to him. What was the point in keeping up a weak appearance if he could not do that?

Grimmjow: What the- that spiritual pressure-it's through the roof!

Ichigo faced him with a cold look on his face.

Ichigo: Bankai.

Black reiatsu outlined with blue engulfed him, as he entered his bankai form. The spiritual energy he emitted formed a pillar that reached all the way into the heavens, spreading darkness everywhere, turning the bright white moon black, and spreading cold everywhere.

Across town

Hitsugaya's team and the remaining Arrancars looked at the scene in shock. Was that reiatsu Ichigo's? How did he develop such a large and dark, cold reiatsu? How could they not have known about it? Hitsugaya made a mental note to ask Ichigo about it later. Matsumoto was frightened by the dark reiatsu, but ignored it, and focussed on getting permission to lift their limiters instead.

Back to Ichigo 

Ichigo spoke coldly: Tensa Zangetsu.

Grimmjow: How did you do that? Your reiatsu was so much lower just a few seconds earlier.

Ichigo was not one to talk much in fights. He immediately launched into the attack.

Grimmjow was forced to draw his sword to block himself, but was quickly beaten back.

Grimmjow: Hahahaha! Looks like I can use my released form and go all out for you! Grind-

Ichigo: Like I'd let you.

And he knocked the Zanpakuto out of Grimmjow's hands. Unarmed, Grimmjow resorted to firing ceros at Ichigo. However, the ceros had such low power compared to Ichigo that they were merely cut in half by the black blade.

Ichigo: Entering the human world was a big mistake. You'd have been better off staying in Hueco Mundo. _Getsuga Tensho_.

A massive crescent of black energy, outlined with blue flew towards Grimmjow and engulfed him. Everything turned pure black for the espada. He screamed out in pain as the spirit particles in the crescent cut him up badly. When all the energy had passed through him, he fell to the ground near his Zanpakuto, too injured to fight further.

Ichigo knew that someone would come to the world of the living to pick up Grimmjow. He didn't want to be seen, so he scooped Yin's body in his arms gently, but quickly, and ran towards a nearby multistorey carpark. Jumping up to the third level, he his behind one of the pillars.

There, he set up a small barrier, meant to completely hide the reiatsu inside, and make them invisible to outsiders. However, he could still see outside clearly. Immediately, he placed Yin on the ground gently, with her head on his lap, and held a hand over her chest. His hand then started glowing blue, and Yin's wound started to heal. Soon, she regained consciousness.

Yin: Ichi…go?

Ichigo: Yin, how do you feel? Is there any pain?

Yin shook her head.

Ichigo: What were you thinking, coming out like that? The reiatsu flying around could have hit you and wounded you more severely.

Yin: I was worried for you.

Ichigo was always surprised when Yin made a statement like that, as they were extremely rare. Even rarer were shows of emotion. Right now, Yin was embracing him. Getting over his surprise, Ichigo tightly embraced her back, offering what comfort he could to Yin, whom he knew was scared and concerned.

Then, he looked up, and saw that a Garganta had opened nearby. Out stepped Kaname Tosen, who looked at the scene of destruction before him in disgust, then saw the still-unconscious Grimmjow's body. Placing Grimmjow's Zanpakuto back in its sheath, he took Grimmjow's hand, treating it like it was a dirty object, and retreated into the Garganta.

Casting his senses around, Ichigo realized that all the other fights had concluded, and the arrancars had died. Hitsugaya and the others must have gotten permission for their limits to be lifted. He took down his barrier and stood up.

Taking his Zanpakuto, he held it out, and after concentrating for a few seconds, the black blade transformed into an ordinary shiny bladed Japanese sword with a black hilt, and a circular guard. After several months, Zangetsu had finally sealed itself. A sheath also appeared in Ichigo's uniform, and Ichigo sheathed his sword.

Looking up, he found that the cold darkness brought on by his Bankai release had dissipated, and the moon was white again. He took Yin, and carefully carrying her in his arms, he started walking back home. However, on the way back, he was confronted by an unlikely person.

Ichigo: Tatsuki?

The spiky-haired karate student, and the friend whom Ichigo's known for the longest time, was standing in front of him, with a concerned expression on her face.

Tatsuki: What happened? _Ichigo_!

Ichigo thought about it. Tatsuki was his oldest friend. He had kept his secret safe from the Shinigami, as, even though they were his friends, they didn't quite have that special place in his heart that his family and some friends had. That Tatsuki also had. He decided to give her the truth. She certainly deserved it, more than some people he could name.

Ichigo: Tatsuki, come with me. We have a lot to discuss.

Tatsuki: Yeah, we sure do! You have so much to explain! Who's the silver-haired woman anyway? Oh my God, is that a scar on her chest?

Ichigo: This is Yin, a close friend of mine. I'll explain everything at home, come on. And don't worry about Yin, I've healed her. She'll be fine after some rest. Let's hurry, some other people are coming to find me, and I'd rather they didn't find me right now.

He hid his reiatsu, and hurried home with Tatsuki. Once they were there, he went to his room, he placed Yin gently on his bed.

Ichigo: Tatsuki, everything I'm going to tell you is true. Please believe me, and forgive me for having kept it a secret from you for so long.

He then started his story of how he trained as a Shinigami at 9 years old, and took part in a secret plot to defeat a man who was trying to become a god. He spoke about his trip to Soul Society, about the Hogyoku, and about the current situation.

Tatsuki: Wow, you've been training since 9 years old to protect those close to you…That's why your smile disappeared isn't it? You tried to cultivate a cold detached image...but what was that earlier? You have this aura around you. It was always very strong, but earlier, it reached immensely high levels! It was like the air itself thickened around me.

Ichigo: That was my true strength. I didn't want to use it, to make the enemy continue underestimating me, but I had to do it.

Tatsuki: Why? You've been taking bad hits for a while now, just to give the enemy a false idea of your powers…why release your true strength now?

Ichigo: Because that arrancar I fought…had the gall to attack a loved one of mine. That's where Yin's wounds came from. To protect her, I had to defeat that Arrancar, and that's what I did.

Tatsuki: You know, ordinarily I would be angry at you for being so secretive, even with your friends. But I can't get angry at you now. You've been protecting me and everyone in class all the way, haven't you? By letting us have normal lives while bearing the burden of knowing about spirits and such. By the way…you do realize that Orihime's in love with you right?

When she got no reply, she was about to chew Ichigo out for being so clueless, but she was surprised when he answered.

Ichigo: She's fallen in love with who she thinks I am. She doesn't know the real me- and it's probably best she doesn't. I knew she had a crush on me for a long time, but I avoided her, hoping not to drag her into this sort of mess. However, I should have known there was no return for her from the point where she got her powers.

Tatsuki patted his shoulder.

Tatsuki: What's done is done. She's strong, and I'm sure she'll pull through this. Thank you, Ichigo, for revealing to me the truth. I'm glad to know you still consider me a friend, after all that you've been through.

With that, Tatsuki kissed Ichigo on his cheek, and left.

Ichigo looked out of his window at the starry sky, alone with Yin.

Ichigo: Thanks Tatsuki-for accepting me for who I am.

Yin stirred. Ichigo patted her shoulder, and gently prevented her from getting up.

Ichigo: You're healed, but you still need rest. Sleep right here tonight.

He kissed her forehead and walked out of the room, to wait for Rukia to return.

End Chapter 9

And Ichigo fills in Tatsuki! Tatsuki is now fully aware of Ichigo's plan, but also will keep it a secret from everybody who hasn't been filled in yet. Also, I plan to give Tatsuki her own powers starting from the next chapter! Oh, and by the way, there still isn't going to be any romance in this story. Tatsuki and Ichigo's relationship is platonic, and will stay that way.

Also, about Ichigo's reiatsu: In this fic, his personality is different, so his spiritual pressure is different. It is bright blue in Shikai. Also, when he activates bankai, his spiritual pressure becomes rather cold, and becomes black with a blue outline, instead of a red outline. However, the coldness does not mean that he has any ice based attacks or anything. Another effect of his bankai is that it turns the moon black, and darkens the skies. His inner hollow also has dark blue eyes, instead of yellow, so when Ichigo hollowfies, his sclera turns black and his irises turn from brown to dark blue.

Alright! Second chapter of the Arrancar arc is up! Ichigo gives Grimmjow a taste of true power and defeats him easily. However, one Espada injured isn't going to set back Aizen's plans. When Aizen strikes, how will Ichigo and his friends react? Stay tuned to find out more!


	10. Chapter 10

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 10

And here's chapter 9, from, yours truly, TsukiakariNoMichi! Thanks for all the reviews people! And, in response to **Nickstar1991**, sorry but there won't be any romance in this story. The reason for that is that I'm not sure I can particularly deliver on the romance part. I don't want to end up disappointing people with…well…a bad romance. I'm sorry I could not meet your expectations in that regard.

But still, I'm glad people like the story, despite the lack of romance, and hope that the new chapters will be enjoyed by readers, so with that…

_Previously, _Grimmjow attacks! Ichigo at first maintains his weak façade, but after Yin is attacked by Grimmjow, he shows his true strength and easily beats Grimmjow, as well as releasing a powerful reiatsu that unnerves Hitsugaya and his teammates. Tatsuki, who's spiritually aware, witnessed the fight, and realizing that she is one of the people really close to him, like his family, Ichigo tells her his secrets. Tatsuki is grateful to Ichigo for considering her close enough to trust her with such deep secrets, and leaves.

Story Proper

The next day at school 

Tatsuki: Hey Ichigo, how are your wounds?

Ichigo: All healed. Yin's fine too.

Mizuiro: Wounds? What are you two talking about?

Ichigo: Oh hey Mizuiro. I got in a small fight last night. I was injured a bit, but nothing serious.

That was the cover story they had decided on in case anyone asked. Hitsugaya's team had been healed by Inoue, so they did not have any noticeable injuries. Isshin was also a reasonably good healer, so he had patched up Ichigo pretty well.

Tatsuki took a gulp of water from her bottle, then looked over to the side and found that Chizuru was trying to flirt with Inoue again. Immediately, she got pissed off. Suddenly she felt something hot in her hand. It was the bottle! She dropped the hot bottle, wondering how it got so hot, when it had just been refilled with cold water at the water cooler. Ichigo had been observing it.

Ichigo said softly: Tatsuki, meet me at the rooftop during lunch.

Tatsuki: Huh? Ok, I guess…

Hitsugaya: Kurosaki! You have some explaining to do for last night!

Matsumoto: Yeah! Was that dark, cold reiatsu really yours? It was several times your strength! Or was there someone else there?

Luckily, at that moment, the teacher walked in.

Hitsugaya: Meet us later in this classroom during lunch, Kurosaki.

Ichigo: No can do, I'm meeting someone else then. I'll explain things later when I have time.

Hitsugaya bristled angrily, but returned to his seat instead of pressing further.

Later at lunch time, on the rooftop 

Tatsuki: So why did you ask me to come up here?

Ichigo: Earlier, with the water bottle-what exactly happened?

Tatsuki: I got pissed off at Chizuru for flirting with Orihime, and then the bottle just felt very hot, and I had to drop it.

Ichigo: You know, that probably means that you have developed special powers. Inoue and Sado both have their own special powers, this is probably yours.

Tatsuki: What, really? Wow that's so cool! Now I'll be able to keep up with the likes of you guys!

Ichigo chuckled: Yeah, maybe. But you need training first. Do you actually know what your powers are though?

Tatsuki: Well, not the exact nature, but I'm pretty sure it's got to be something to do with fire.

Ichigo: Well, maybe. Let's find out later. Later, after school, make a detour and come to my house. We can train there, and I can help you develop your powers further.

Tatsuki: What, you're going to train me?

Ichigo: Yeah. I may not look it, but I can train people reasonably well.

Later after school, in the Kurosaki home secret training room 

Tatsuki: Wow! How on earth did you guys keep the existence of such a massive room secret?

Ichigo: Well, I myself didn't know about it until I was 9 years old. Ask my dad how he built it and kept it secret. Anyway, we're here to train. Show me your powers.

Tatsuki: How? I don't even know the nature of this power.

Ichigo: Well then let's recreate the circumstances when you used the power this morning. Here, put your hand in this mug of water.

Tatsuki took the mug and placed her hand in it. She willed her powers to come forth, and was surprised at the result. Half of the water had evaporated, but the other half _had frozen_.

Ichigo: Well, this is a surprise. Who would've thought a person could have the power to freeze _and _burn? What did you feel as you did that?

Tatsuki: I felt power travelling from the water, through my hand, and back to the water. And then half the water evaporated and the other half froze.

Ichigo thought about it for a while.

Ichigo: I think I got it! Your powers probably made your hand into an exchanger of heat energy. You removed thermal energy from half of the water, freezing it, and transferred that same energy to the remaining water, causing it to evaporate. That's pretty versatile power.

Tatsuki: Wow, I was expecting something more along the lines of burning stuff.

Ichigo: Well, that may also be possible. If you absorb enough heat energy, you should be able to create flames. You could also use your freezing abilities to form your own improvised weapons out of ice, or form shields of ice. You also have to rely on your hand to hand fighting skills, since you don't have a formal weapon.

Tatsuki: Alright then, let's start training!

And so they did. Firstly, Ichigo evaluated the maximum heat energy she could absorb before she had to release it. Training to increase that limit followed. Then, they went on to weapons and shields training. He brought in several buckets of water and poured them on the floor, since water was relatively easy to freeze. Tatsuki trained timing her freezing capabilities to make small, sharp javelins out of ice and use them as throwing weapons. Then, Ichigo evaluated her burning abilities, and how well she could control her flames. Them he gave more training on controlling the flames.

Ichigo: Note that we trained today with a lot of water in the surroundings. In a real fight, you won't be so lucky. Make sure to use anything you can to give yourself the advantage. If you see a water tank, destroy it to give yourself things to freeze and weapons to create. If you see oil, draw your enemy near it, and ignite the oil to injure him. Also, try freezing different things. You could defeat an enemy by removing sufficient heat energy from his or her body.

Tatsuki: Wow, you've thought this out quite well, even though it's just been a few hours since I first used this ability consciously.

Ichigo: Yeah, I was trained since 9 years old to be able to analyse situations, weapons, abilities and the like well. If you want, I can give you a much shorter version of that training.

Tatsuki: I have to get stronger to protect my loved ones, Ichigo. I accept the new training as well.

Ichigo: Very well.

And he trained her to be analytical, to keep a cool head in difficult situations, to rationalize. He also taught her the same skills he taught Uryu some time ago: To be able to quietly escape and surprise enemies, to mask reiatsu, and some other skills. To be able to effectively get information from enemies, to tell lies without flinching, and other similar skills.

All this was done over the course of the next few days, after school. Ichigo had effectively avoided Hitsugaya and his team. However, there was one group of people whom he could not escape from just yet, as he discovered when walking back home with Tatsuki after school one day.

"Strawberry Dickhead!"

Ichigo was surprised. There were two sources of Shinigami-hollow hybrid reiatsu behind him. Turning, he found Shinji, and another girl whom he did not know. The girl was blond, with her hair tied in two tails, and wore a red jogging suit. She also had a noticeably long tooth that showed even with a closed mouth. She wore flip flops, and was holding up one of them in her hand rather than wearing it on her feet.

Ichigo: Who are you? Another Vizard? Didn't I tell you that I didn't want to join your group?

Hiyori: We aren't taking no for an answer dickhead! You're coming with us!

Ichigo: Why? I've already suppressed my inner hollow.

This time, Hiyori lost her patience and tried to hut Ichigo with her flip flops, but he dodged.

Shinji: I tried to get her to listen, but she won't take no for an answer. At the very least, could you come over to train with us?

Ichigo: Oh, alright then. Can Tatsuki come too? She's got her own powers, and she could improve greatly if she got a chance to use her skills in a real training battle.

Shinji: Sure, whatever.

At the Vizards' base 

Ichigo and Tatsuki met the other Vizards, and after a round of introductions, Hiyori went to train with Ichigo. Tatsuki also asked for someone to train with her, and Mashiro volunteered, being the best hand to hand fighter among the Vizards.

The training pushed Tatsuki to her limits, as Ichigo had gone slightly easier on her, and now she was dealing with a hyperactive, ex-lieutenant with hollow powers. She realized that she had to think fast to beat her adversary. She decided that even with her spiritual energy-enhanced hand to hand attacks, she could not defeat her enemy, and her special powers were required.

Looking around her, she found that there was a barbeque pit with some still hot embers behind a rock. Using her own version of a flash step, which she had developed by herself after observing Ichigo's flash step, she reached the pit. She placed her hand on the hot embers and applied her powers to absorb the heat energy from the coals. She felt no pain from touching the coals, as they froze almost soon as Tatsuki started absorbing the heat.

Silently, she marvelled, and thought to herself,"Ichigo really is a good teacher…within a few days, I learnt to absorb a large amount of heat energy at really great speeds…"

With that, she took the frozen coals and threw them at Mashiro who swatted them away, but closed her eyes for a second from surprise. Seeing her chance, Tatsuki threw a fireball at Mashiro. The green haired Vizard was shocked. She could not avoid it in time, and ended up losing to Tatsuki.

All the other Vizards: Whoa…

Hachi quickly lumbered over to treat Mashiro's injuries.

Love: Wow, not bad. It takes a lot to knock out one of us like that. You're pretty good.

Tatsuki: Thanks!

Soon, training ended, and Ichigo and Tatsuki left. Then, they felt a large reiatsu. The espada had appeared in the town once again.

End Chapter 10

And thus ends chapter 10! Tatsuki develops her abilities and trains with the Vizards.

Tatsuki's powers involve heat transfer. She can transfer heat by a simple touch, freezing objects by removing heat energy, or burning them by adding more heat energy. Her hand to hand fighting skills are greatly enhanced because of her spiritual energy. She also can perform a reasonably fast flash step, which she learned by observing Ichigo's own flash step.

Now the Espada are in Karakura town, on their mission to kidnap Inoue! What will Ichigo and Tatsuki do now? Stay tuned to find out more!


	11. Chapter 11

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 11

Hello again, people! I've got some news for you all! For those who haven't seen my profile yet, you probably won't have heard the fact that I'm thinking of doing a sequel for this story!

The sequel, if I decide to do it, will have more focus on Yin, and will also have something to do with Mayuri Kurotsuchi. My apologies to the Mayuri fans, but I really hate the guy for being such a cruel sadist, and for being so arrogant, in insisting that everything and anything is a test subject for his research.

This means that I'll probably write a story in which Kurotsuchi gets in Ichigo's way and will get punished for it. For some further details, I _might_ put up a poll at a later date. If I do, I'll inform you about it.

Oh, and **Nickstar1991, **there was no porn involved! Really. And I don't know Barry White…

_Previously,_ Tatsuki develops her abilities, and trains with Ichigo, and then later, the Vizards. The arrancar then enter the real world, with the intention of distracting the Shinigami to facilitate the kidnapping of Inoue.

Story Proper

Tatsuki: Wow, some powerful guys have shown up.

Ichigo: Oh damn!

Tatsuki: What's wrong?

Ichigo: It's Inoue! I have a mole in Hueco Mundo who informed me that Aizen had some interest in Inoue. These guys might be here to kidnap her. Oh wait…she's in Soul Society now. She's safe there.

Tatsuki: That's a relief to hear, even though she's in the world of the dead now.

Ichigo: Tatsuki…I'm sorry but I have to ask you to go home and mask your reiatsu right now. Your abilities are sufficient to take on arrancars, but I'd rather they be kept a secret right now.

Tatsuki: Ahh…Here I was hoping to test my skills in a real battle. Well, I guess it can't be helped. I'll see you tomorrow then.

Ichigo: Thanks Tatsuki. See you tomorrow.

And with that, Ichigo flash stepped away after ordering Kon to return home. He looked up at his adversary-Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The sixth Espada seemed to have recovered from his injuries from his earlier fight, but was still scarred and now, was missing an arm. The usual taunts flew back and forth, and Ichigo decided to quickly put an end to the fight, so that he could go and help Hitsugaya and his team, whom he could tell were not faring too well. Then he felt Urahara's reiatsu near the captain and his teammates and felt reassured. He drew his sword and wordlessly activated its Shikai.

Ichigo quickly flash stepped towards Grimmjow, and simply using his Shikai, easily slashed through his tough skin.

Grimmjow: Damn you! How come you have this much power? Last time we fought, you were losing so badly, then suddenly recovered and fought so well! How is that possible?

Ichigo ignored his rant and continued fighting in a calm, surgical manner, focussing more on winning rather than talking to Grimmjow. Soon, Grimmjow was in no shape to fight anymore. His body was covered in cuts. Trying to release his Zanpakuto now would do no good whatsoever. However, then, he was saved, by the pale skinned, green-eyed arrancar Ichigo had seen at the park. Ichigo immediately masked his reiatsu. The pale arrancar stated that their mission was over, and took Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo through negacion.

Ichigo wondered what the mission was. He calmly considered the possibility that kidnapping Inoue was the mission, and wondered what they could want with her. The answer struck him: _The fake Hogyoku in Aizen's hands has been decaying, and he wants Inoue to use her powers to restore it. _

This was bad. The Hogyoku was meant to decay over time, to ensure that Aizen had limited time to build his army. However, with Inoue's powers…his army could be built and rebuilt countless times over. The war would soon turn into a battle of attrition, and the Shinigami would undoubtedly lose such a battle, given that training new Shinigami capable of fighting arrancars took a lot of time-which they did not have.

Quickly, he whipped out his phone and called Tatsuki and Ishida and asked them to come to his house that night. The two accomplices agreed.

That night 

Ichigo kept awake, waiting for his two friends to come. At that moment, Inoue walked into his room, wearing the arrancar bracelet that rendered her invisible to non-hollows. Ichigo immediately heard a voice inside his head, and recognised it as that of David Somerset, his inner Hollow.

David: Hey, Ichigo! Look behind you! It's that Inoue girl!

Ichigo: What? All I see is the wall! Besides her reiatsu is non-existent in this room now! How could she be here?

David: Oh, I see it! She's wearing a bracelet that's casting a field over her. Maybe only Hollows can see her?

Ichigo: Alright, I'll have to talk to her. David, lend me your eyes and ears, since I can't see or hear her.

David: Sure.

Ichigo: Inoue…are you there?

Inoue: Eh? You can see me? I was told that non hollows cannot see me.

Ichigo: I have an inner hollow. This inner hollow is helping me see and hear you. What happened?

Inoue: Well, you see…Aizen wants my powers, so he had his soldiers kidnap me. I think he wants me to repair the Hogyoku.

Ichigo: Alright, listen up. I think you should go now. Getting you to remove that bracelet now is too risky. They'll come back to capture you again for sure, and this time we will all die. Go. We'll definitely come and rescue you.

Inoue: Alright then… I'll try my best to pretend to be Aizen's willing servant and try to get as much information out of him as I can.

Ichigo: Thank you, Inoue, but don't overdo it. Don't get in too much danger.

Inoue nodded, happy that she could be of use, and left before she got caught.

Soon, Tatsuki and Ishida came. The three of them went to the secret room, and Ichigo recounted what had happened. Tatsuki was sad that she could not see Inoue one last time, but was reassured when Ichigo laid out his plan to them.

Ichigo: Don't worry Tatsuki. We'll definitely rescue our friend. Her powers, if used by Aizen, can decide the winner in this war, so we must rescue her. I have a mole in Hueco Mundo, we must go ahead to see her and get information, before we charge into Aizen's fortress, Las Noches. Sado has been training hard, and he will also want to come. Rukia and Renji are also in the real world now, and they will receive the news tomorrow. Most likely, to preserve the lives of his soldiers, the Gotei-13 leader, Yamamoto, will forbid us from setting foot in Hueco Mundo, but hopefully, Rukia and Renji will find a way around that problem somehow. Our combined strength will be enough for the rescue.

Tatsuki: Alright then, we'll trust your judgment. But is it really alright for me to reveal my powers, after I've been hiding them for so long?

Ichigo: Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry.

Ishida: So how do you plan to go about this? Only we can be present if we're meeting the informant.

Ichigo: Yeah, that's true. My father can create a portal to Hueco Mundo. The three of us will go ahead. I'll call Urahara and tell him to set up the portal for Sado, Rukia and Renji when they arrive. Rukia and Renji will take a while to come after getting back from Soul Society. They haven't even been informed yet. We'll leave right away.

Ishida and Tatsuki: Alright!

In Hueco Mundo 

As soon as the three members of the Kurosaki team made it to the dark desert of Hueco Mundo, Ichigo cast his senses afield and focussed on a familiar reiatsu.

Ichigo: Found the informant. Let's go.

Soon, they reached the source of reiatsu. Ichigo was expecting an adult, but what he saw was a child playing tag with two weird looking hollows and a giant worm.

Ichigo: Neliel! Neliel, is that you?

The child looked up in surprise and said: Who're you?

Ichigo's spy in Hueco Mundo, Neliel tu Oderschvank, had turned into a young child somehow. There were two hollows with her. One of them, a very thin, purple skinned hollow with a rather bug-like hollow mask stepped forward and bowed to Ichigo. This was one of Neliel's subordinates, Pesche.

Pesche: Our apologies sir, but due to an incident in Las Noches, Lady Neliel suffered amnesia and her body changed to that of a child's. Her powers are also mostly gone.

Ichigo: Damn it…Nel…Who did this to her?

Pesche: It was Nnoitra, sir. That lowlife is a staunch chauvinist, and he constantly challenged our mistress to needless fights in futile attempts to prove his self-perceived superiority. Then one day, he decided to play dirty, and used a special device that created an illusion, allowing her to strike her mask, causing her body to change like this.

Tatsuki's motherly side took over, and she gently talked to the child, who opened up to her, in her own childlike way.

Ichigo: Damn that bastard…I'll get him for this. Anyway, Pesche, thank you very much. You've been a great help for us.

Pesche: We're sorry we can do no more for you.

Ichigo: No, don't be sorry. We'll help you guys out. Come with us. We'll protect you and I'll try to get Neliel's memories back.

Pesche: This is a great thing you are doing for us, Mr Kurosaki, sir. Thank you very much. We'll try to help you in whatever way we can.

Ichigo smiled at her, and then felt something.

Ishida: Looks like our comrades are here, Ichigo.

Ichigo: Yeah, I just felt them.

Soon, Sado, Rukia and Renji showed up there.

Ichigo: Hey you guys, thanks for coming. Sorry we left earlier, but there was something we had to do here.

Rukia: What did you have to do here anyway? Have you even heard that Inoue has been kidnapped?

Ichigo: Of course, why else would we be here? Anyway, Inoue's ability is an important deciding factor in this war. If she can repair the Hogyoku, the war will go on and on. We'll rescue her, then go join the battle in the real world.

Renji: Real world? What are you babbling about now?

Ichigo: Aizen wants to destroy Karakura town to create the King's Key right? When he invades, we need to go there in order to defeat him. We also need to incapacitate as many of the Espada as possible in order to weaken Aizen's army, but _that is an optional objective. _If you see an Espada whom you know you can't defeat, **Run.** Now let's go. Oh, and this is Neliel tu Oderschvank, Pesche, and Dondochakka.

The three hollows enthusiastically greeted the Shinigami by doing one of their poses, just to appease Nel. Sweat dropping, Rukia turned to Ichigo.

Rukia: But, Ichigo, how did you know about the King's Key? You were absent during the briefing, and when Inoue went to find you to break it to you, she couldn't find you. Where were you during that time anyway?

Ichigo: I have my sources. As for the second question, I was helping Tatsuki train with her newfound powers.

Tatsuki, who had been masking her reiatsu all the while, unmasked it, and Rukia looked at her in shock.

Rukia: Arisawa! How did you…

Tatsuki: Being around Ichigo gave me spiritual awareness, and now I have my own powers as well. Uryu's also regained his Quincy powers. We can also fight on par with some of our enemies now.

Ichigo: Enough talk guys, let's go.

End Chapter 11

Hueco Mundo arc starts! Ichigo and others will soon fight against the Espada. How will they fare now? Will Ichigo and the others make it in time to the Human World to defeat Aizen? Stay tuned to find out more!

Author's Note: About Nel and her Fraccion-Pesche and Dondochakka were also involved in Nel's secret intelligence relaying to Ichigo, and the three are Ichigo's friends as well. He also cares deeply for Nel and has vowed to protect her from that point onwards and will see to it that she regains her powers.

Also, Tatsuki is quite powerful now, with Ichigo's training. I'd say her power is equivalent to Rukia's and greater then Sado's even though Sado's arm is enhanced now.


	12. Chapter 12

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 12

I thought about how I wanted to write the sequel to this story, and realized that I could make it into a story with a powerful ending. Now I really want to write that sequel…hopefully I'll have enough time to write a sequel and really deliver a great story!

_Previously_, Ichigo and his friends infiltrate Hueco Mundo! He meets us with his secret informant, and friend, Neliel tu Oderschvank herself. However, unfortunately, Nnoitra caused her to lose her memories and turn into a child for a while. Pesche and Dondochakka are also aware that Nel was supplying Ichigo with information and will listen to his instructions. Ichigo considers Nel a precious friend, like Tatsuki, Yin and Ishida, and has promised to protect her and try to recover her memories by going to Las Noches. On the way, Pesche gives some startling news.

Story Proper

Pesche: Mr Kurosaki, I have some bad news. Aizen has used his Zanpakuto's powers on Miss Inoue Orihime. One of those powers is to hypnotise people and, to put it loosely, mess around with their minds. He probably made her think that all of you were her enemies, and that he is her true friend and ally. I believe that particular ability is one that works on people with low willpower and/or spirit energy. The only way to wake her up from this hypnosis is to get her at least 200 metres away from the source of hypnosis, which is Kyouka Suigetsu itself. Las Noches is a large place, so doing that should be relatively easy. The Hypnosis may be used only once, so as soon as you wake her up the first time, she's forever free of the hypnosis.

Ichigo: I see. But if that's the case, there would be someone powerful guarding her, so that she may not leave her area of imprisonment.

Pesche: Yes sir, there is. She is being watched over by Espada number 4, Ulquiorra Schiffer. That man's strength is enormous, and he is not an enemy to be trifled with.

Ichigo: Well, that's ok. I have some equipment from the human world in my bag, and we can use it to take care of the situation. I had heard loose rumours of that particular ability of Aizen's, so I prepared accordingly.

Rukia: What exactly is in that bag of yours? And how do you know these hollows anyway? The purple one called you "sir". Who are they to you anyway?

Ichigo: Don't be so suspicious, Rukia. We met them here, and they're good people. Just because they're hollows doesn't mean they are enemies.

Ichigo chose not to answer Rukia's last question. Rukia wanted to press, but Ichigo started talking to Ishida about some random topic, cutting her off. Soon, they reached the massive domed palace of Las Noches. They got off and entered the dark tunnels. Renji tried to show off by using kido without the incantation, but failed.

Ichigo: Stop, Renji. I'll do it instead. Hado #31: Shakkaho!

Ishida and Tatsuki smirked at the looks on everybody's faces. Ichigo was very good at kido, but he had fooled Rukia, Renji and the others into thinking that he had little control over his power so well, that the very idea of him using kido caused them to laugh. But now, they were completely surprised by Ichigo's small show of skill in the field.

Renji: You…how on earth did you do that kido? No human should know that!

Ichigo: In case you hadn't noticed…

Rukia: That's not what he meant! How did you learn kido? Was it Urahara who taught you?

Ishida: As if! Ichigo beat him in a training duel with kido once.

Rukia: But he's a former captain! How did you-

Ichigo: Yeah, he's a captain level Shinigami. And so was the dreaded Kenpachi, whom I beat.

Ichigo then walked on, ignoring their blabbering. Soon, they reached a secret door, pointed out by Dondochakka.

They stepped through and arrived at a crossroads. There were 6 people with them, and there were 5 doors altogether. The doors led off to unknown locations.

Sado: What's our plan now?

Ichigo: Everything will proceed more smoothly if we split up. Ishida, Tatsuki and I shall go by ourselves. Renji, you too should take a door to yourself, since you've got a bankai. I'll leave the last door to you two, Rukia and Sado. If you run into further crossroads, you two can split up if you want. Nel will come with me. Dondochakka, please follow Renji. Pesche, please follow Ishida.

Nel: Okay, Itsygo!

Pesche: Okay. We'll leave Nel to you.

After that, Ichigo, Ishida, Tatsuki, Nel and Pesche took their paths, as recommended by Ichigo. Rukia, Renji and Sado looked at them in surprise, wondering what had happened to the usual, headstrong Ichigo they knew, the Ichigo who would advocate staying as a group for safety. Not that they knew of course, that _that _Ichigo was covered in layers of personality, cold and calculating, aiming to win, and achieve the goal without wasting time.

Ichigo, Ishida and Tatsuki soon met the Privaron Espada. Ichigo fought and beat Dordonii and Ishida also beat Cirucci Thunderwitch. Tatsuki faced Gantenbainne Mosqueda. She was excited as this was going to be her first real fight, and she wanted to test her skills, but then remembered Ichigo's lessons to keep a cool exterior in battle and focus on winning.

When the former Espada met her, she did not even flinch. When Gantenbainne introduced her, she simply nodded, while analysing his weapons, possible attacking styles and how to gain the upper hand with him. She decided not to use her special powers from the beginning, instead choosing to her spiritual energy-enhanced hand to hand fighting skills and flash steps. The place had no water, or anything suitable to freeze, so her powers wouldn't have been of much use anyway.

The two martial artists started fighting. Kicks and punches were fiercely traded by the evenly-matched opponents.

Gantenbainne: Wow, you're just a human, and you're this good?

Tatsuki: Just because I'm human? Wrong. It's because I'm a human that I'll beat an instinct-driven fighter like you.

Gantenbainne: We'll see about that!

And he released his weapon. Thick armour appeared on his arms, which had dragon-head-like attachments at the ends.

Gantenbainne said silently in Spanish: May God forgive us all.

And then, he launched a fireball at Tatsuki, who saw her chance. The spiky haired girl held out a hand to stop the fireball, and started absorbing the heat from it. Soon, the fire burnt itself out, and Tatsuki had absorbed the energy from it. With a cry, she threw the energy right back at the surprised Mosqueda.

Gantenbainne: What? What did you do?

Tatsuki did not say. Revealing your secrets to an enemy in the middle of a fight was a risky move.

Immediately, she continued the fight, absorbing the energy from Gantenbainne's attacks and redirecting it at the former Espada. Then, she decided to end the fight. Gantenbainne had grown tired from using his spiritual power. Tatsuki knew she would soon have to rest, so she immediately flash stepped over to Gantenbainne and grabbed his armour plating and started to absorb the heat energy emitted by his body. Too much heat loss, and the former Espada would not be able to survive.

She soon froze the body of the Espada, and left him there. Soon, he would melt, and would probably survive, but by that time she would be far away. Besides, she didn't want to take lives unless necessary. She quickly masked her spiritual energy and left the place, knowing that the Las Noches internal security people (the Exequias) might come back to investigate the scene to find out more about the invaders.

At that moment, she felt Ichigo's reiatsu spike, and went to investigate. He was fighting a powerful enemy, the same enemy that he had fought back on the night when he released his true strength, and later told her the truth. She rushed over. Nel was with him, and she needed someone to protect her with Ichigo off fighting.

Besides, she did not need to look for Inoue. She already had a fix on her reiatsu signature, and furthermore, it had been agreed between her, Ishida and Ichigo that Ichigo should go to retrieve her, given that she had a powerful guard. All she needed to do was to tell Ichigo the location-that is, if he hadn't figured it out by himself already.

Soon, she reached an open space. Ichigo was already fighting the blue haired Espada, who was using his sword, which meant that his skin was no longer too tough for Ichigo to cut, even with just his Shikai.

Grimmjow laughed out, and decided to take things up a notch.

Grimmjow: Last time, you only won because I didn't release! This time, I'll beat your head into the sand for sure! Grind, Pantera!

He released, and roared at Ichigo. The roar was imbued with spiritual energy and Ichigo was impressed by it.

Ichigo: Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu.

Ichigo's bankai release darkened the skies, even though the sky they were looking at was fake. Grimmjow grinned and attacked Ichigo straight away. Ichigo coldly counter attacked, but then Grimmjow started to play dirty. He fired several darts at Tatsuki and Nel, who were standing on top of a pillar, with Tatsuki making sure that Nel was safely behind her.

Tatsuki: What the-

On instinct, she grabbed Nel and jumped off the pillar, which was destroyed by the explosive darts. Using the reishi in the air, she formed invisible footholds, and used them to make her way to another pillar.

Ichigo: This fight is between us Grimmjow. Don't involve them any further!

Grimmjow: Oh yeah? Make me!

Ichigo was angered by his comments. He decided to go all out. Putting his palm to his face, he formed his mask on his face. His sclera turned black, his eyes turned dark blue, and his reiatsu reached extremely high levels. Grimmjow looked at him in shock.

Grimmjow: What are you? A hybrid?

Ichigo: That's right, I am. Prepare yourself, Grimmjow.

Now truly frightened, Grimmjow used his strongest attack.

Grimmjow: Desgarron!

Ichigo, with his enhanced power, easily broke through the claws of spiritual energy. Holding up his hand, Ichigo started charging up a cero. Grimmjow looked at him in shock, as the cero came his way. He was unable to avoid it, and was hit badly.

Without wasting another second, Ichigo removed his mask and followed through with a Getsuga Tensho. With Grimmjow weakened, he did not need the mask to add extra power to his attack. Grimmjow fell to the ground, defeated.

However, then, another enemy came in. This one was extremely tall and thin, and had a white eyepatch. He also had a massive weapon that had two crescent shaped blades facing in opposite directions, and with a chain coming out of the end. The man had a rather lecherous grin on his face. It was Nnoitra Jiruga, the fifth Espada.

Nnoitra: Looks like that bastard Grimmjow was pathetically beaten! My turn to fight you, Shinigami!

Ichigo looked at him coldly and started fighting. This enemy was strong, and use of his hollow mask would probably be a good move in this fight. Then he remembered that Nnoitra was the one who had caused Nel to lose her memories and powers and got angry. He started to fight harder. Nel looked at Nnoitra and immediately got scared.

Tatsuki: Don't be scared, Nel. You've always been stronger than him.

Nel: I have?

Tatsuki: Yeah. You used to be a powerful warrior, but he pulled a dirty trick on you, and caused you to lose your memories. Remember, Nel! Remember your past!

Nel: My…past? But I'm just a kid from the desert…

Then she saw Nnoitra's facial expression. He was smirking at her. He was remembering her past, and was happy now that she was no longer as powerful as her. Then, a voice rang out clearly inside her head.

"_Remember, Neliel." _

And immediately, she did. Ina blast of purple smoke, she materialized in her true form.

Tatsuki smiled: Welcome back, Neliel.

Nel: Ummm…who are you? A friend of Ichigo's?

Tatsuki: Yeah I am. I myself don't know you personally, but Ichigo's told me about you, and how you risk yourself for information here. I'm very impressed.

Nel: Thank you very much! Now, excuse me, I'll have to go fight Nnoitra, and settle my duel.

Tatsuki: Yeah, thanks. Ichigo and I have to go off to rescue our friend now.

Nel: Alright, good luck!

She flash stepped down to Ichigo and Nnoitra.

Ichigo: Nel! Good to see you again!

Nel hugged him briefly and let go to face Nnoitra.

Nel: Thanks for helping me up until now, Ichigo. I'll take care of things here, you go on ahead with Tatsuki to rescue your friend.

Ichigo: Thanks Nel, good luck!

Nel: You too!

Ichigo immediately went over to Tatsuki. At that moment, Ishida, who had just defeated Cirucci Thunderwitch, flash stepped onto the pillar they were standing on. A secret look of understanding passed between them. Ichigo reached into his pocket, pulled out two devices and passed one each to Tatsuki and Ishida.

Tatsuki: Ok, so we're supposed to set off these explosive charges within the fortress. Mine's supposed to go off a hundred metres from Orihime's room in the direction of the throne room, while Ishida sets up the other one close to the throne room itself. Then we leave the place and get back here. Is that right?

Ishida: Yeah. Anyway, the situation has improved greatly. Soul Society has sent four captains to back us up. Captain Kuchiki is one of them. Rukia is injured from her fight with an Espada, but she managed to beat him. Renji and Sado also encountered an Espada. They are in no shape to fight right now, but Kurotsuchi Mayuri is heading there now. He should be able to defeat that Espada. Captain Unohana is also here, she can heal the two of them. And the fourth captain is Zaraki himself.

Ichigo: Alright, thanks for the update. Wait, Kenpachi? Damn, he'll come barging in here demanding to fight with me. But I guess he could be of some help. I see him down there. I'll point him in the right direction, and he can go fight Inoue's guardian.

With that, the three conspirators went down to ground level to meet Kenpachi.

Kenpachi: Ichigo! Fight me now!

Ichigo: Sorry, not interested. But come with us, and we'll guarantee you a good fight-with one of the Espada.

Kenpachi: Oh, is that so? Sounds good!

Ichigo explained their plan to the spiky haired Captain, and instructed him to stay near the explosions, since the guards would come running to the scene, especially with Aizen's throne room so near the explosion.

Kenpachi: Ok, got it!

The group split up, and headed to their destinations. Later, a fully healed Rukia, Renji and Sado stepped outside into the sunny place inside Las Noches. They started looking for Ichigo's reiatsu, but were surprised to find him inside the tower already.

Rukia: Good to see he's already on his way. The secret police might come here looking for him, let's make sure we stop them!

The other two agreed, and they started fighting the Hollows that had appeared there.

Meanwhile in the tower… 

Tatsuki and Ishida set up the explosive devices, then returned to where they had come from, leaving the guardian to Kenpachi and Inoue herself to Ichigo.

Ichigo reached into his pocket and took out a small bottle, as well as another small container. The label said "hair dye". Ichigo smirked, and walked into an empty room. There, he dyed his hair black, and wore contacts that made his eyes blue.

Then, he completely suppressed his own reiatsu, and pulled his mask onto his face. Then, he took his sealed sword and hit his mask with the bottom of the hilt, cracking off part of it. Then, he looked at the wardrobe of the room, and found some arrancar uniforms inside. He quickly donned one of the uniforms. It was a tight fit, but it would do.

Now, he had black hair and blue eyes, a broken mask on his face, and hollow like reiatsu. His sclera remained white, however. He was also dressed like an Arrancar. He felt around for Aizen's reiatsu, and noticed that he was in the throne room, even though an explosion had occurred nearby. The guardian had also just left Inoue's room and was running towards the explosion, and unknowingly towards Kenpachi as well.

Ichigo smirked, and headed towards Inoue's room. He assumed a completely expressionless face and knocked on the door. Since Inoue was a willing servant of Aizen, while under hypnosis, there was no need to lock her inside her room. She opened the door.

Inoue: Yes?

Ichigo: Lord Aizen has requested your presence. I came because Sir Ulquiorra was taking care of a threat elsewhere. He has ordered me to escort you to the throne room.

Inoue: Oh, understood.

And they started walking. Ichigo deliberately started walking toward the throne room, but using a long-winded route.

Inoue: Umm, isn't this way a little long-winded? There's a shorter path…

Ichigo kept walking, but put his hand up to his face as he walked.

Inoue: Umm…excuse me, didn't you hear me just then…?

Ichigo now stopped and turned around and faced her. He had removed his contacts, and looked at her emotionlessly. Inoue found herself staring at the brown eyes, and feeling the reiatsu of her enemy, Ichigo Kurosaki.

Inoue gasped, and tried to run, but Ichigo was faster, and administered a light electric shock to knock her out. Then, he pointed his palm at the wall before him.

Ichigo: Hado #31: Shakkaho!

The wall was destroyed and Ichigo jumped out, holding the unconscious Inoue.

Ulquiorra, somewhere else, felt the reiatsu of Inoue and the other person disappear. His eyes widened as he started to understand the trap set for him. He wanted to go and get back Inoue, but Kenpachi was fighting him, so that was impossible.

Ichigo soon reached 200 metres away from the throne room. He administered another slight shock to Inoue, to wake her up.

Inoue: Kurosaki-kun…?

End Chapter 12

Hueco Mundo Arc almost ending! In fact, this story is almost ending also…at most just two or so chapters. But then there's the sequel! Yay! Next chapter: Hueco Mundo arc ends, and Fake Karakura Town arc starts! Aizen faces the Shinigami confidently, not knowing of his impending doom. Soon, the Shinigami will know about the plot that has been in the works for 6 years to bring down Aizen, and the aspiring God will fall from the blue sky.


	13. Chapter 13

Cruel to be Kind Chapter 13

Hello once again everyone! I've been thinking, as I often do when I have nothing else to do, and my thoughts brought me to my stories. First of all, my first story, _Death Gods and the Black Contractor_ seems rather abandoned. So, I have decided to finish that first, before starting on my sequel to _Cruel to be Kind_.

Also, thinking about the sequel, I wondered what it would be like if I made it a crossover with **Harry Potter**. I'm fine with writing either a crossover, or a normal story. Some of you might really want it to be a crossover, while others may want it to be a normal story.

**So, to resolve this**, I have put up a poll on my profile. Please do sign in and vote! It's a simple yes/no question. Yes for crossover, no for normal. The poll will be up until this Sunday evening, Singapore time, at around 7pm or so. So, please hurry and vote! (If nobody bothers to vote, I'll just sigh sadly then toss a coin to decide :D)

Also, about the last chapter – the way Nel regained her memories may seem a bit lame to some people compared to how she regained her memories in the anime. Sorry, about that, I really couldn't think of a better way to do so. And there was a little voice inside Nel's head that told her to remember. That voice was actually that of her Zanpakuto itself, telling her to remember. Of course, I'm not sure if Arrancar Zanpakutos can actually communicate with their wielders like that, but in this story, they can.

And we finally come to the conclusion of this story! My apologies for making this rushed, but time constraints have forced my hand. Hopefully, you'll still enjoy this conclusion, and will still be interested in the sequel I'm planning. So, for supporting me up till now, thanks very much!

_Previously_, Ichigo and his friends infiltrate Hueco Mundo! They rescue Inoue using explosive devices to draw Ulquiorra away from Inoue's room, then preventing him from returning by asking Kenpachi to stand near the explosions and fight Ulquiorra when he arrived. Nel has recovered, and is fighting Nnoitra. Rukia, Renji and Sado have also recovered from their injuries and have started fighting the Exequias, so as to prevent them from going after Ichigo. Tatsuki and Ishida then come out of the tower and help them. Several minutes later, suddenly, they see an explosion of red flames from the tower, and out comes Ichigo, who flash steps towards a spot in the distance, carrying Inoue on his back.

Story Proper

Inoue soon woke up. Now freed of her hypnosis, she looks up into the expressionless face of her rescuer.

Ichigo: Good to have you back, Inoue. For a while, you were under Aizen's hypnosis, and being made to believe that we were your enemies. Luckily, that spell has been broken. Come, everyone else is waiting.

With that, he took her hand and flash stepped back to the others. Tatsuki immediately went down and hugged her.

Inoue: Tatsuki! What are you doing here?

Tatsuki: Oh yeah, you don't know yet, do you? I developed my own spiritual powers, and after receiving some training with Ichigo and some friends of his, I decided to accompany them to save you. I did promise I would protect you didn't I?

Inoue smiled gratefully at her friends, who looked back at her with relief.

Meanwhile, Rudobone, the leader of the Exequias, was in his released form, creating more soldiers to take down the enemy. Ichigo and Ishida looked at him, calculating their next move.

Ishida: Let's go, Ichigo, the rest of the Exequias are still there. I'll take down the soldiers; you go for the middle guy. He's the root of this problem, quite literally.

Ichigo agreed, and headed straight to Rudobone. Ishida covered him, shooting down the soldiers one by one. Soon, Ichigo reached Rudobone.

Ichigo: Hado #32: Oukasen!

A yellow arc of energy flew from his hand, hitting Rudobone and injuring him so badly that his released form faded away.

Then, at that moment, a massive fist rammed into Rudobone, sending him flying. The tenth Espada, Yammy, had entered the fray.

Ichigo: Damn it, we're wasting time! The battle has already started in the real world! We need to get there as soon as possible!

Fortunately, that was the point at which Byakuya, Nel, Kurotsuchi and Unohana came in.

Nel: You're right, Ichigo, we need to get to the real world as soon as possible. Come, I'll open a portal for us. Captain Kurotsuchi has agreed to fight Yammy. For his powers, it shouldn't be too hard. Captains Kuchiki and Unohana are to come to the real world.

Ichigo: Great, thanks Nel! Come on, Tatsuki, Uryu!

Rukia: Wait! What about us?

Ichigo: You guys stay here and return with Captain Kurotsuchi. The real world is going to become a dangerous battlefield soon, if it hasn't already become one. It's safer here. Tatsuki and Ishida's powers will come in handy so they'll be coming here with me.

Byakuya: Heed his words, Rukia. Stay here, soon, Captain Kurotsuchi will be done here, and then, you can return. We will be done by then.

With that, Nel opened a Garganta and Ichigo and the others walked into the blackness. Inside, Unohana had some questions.

Unohana: It seems that all of you know something the rest of us don't.

Ichigo: That's right. I trust you'll keep this a secret, so I'll tell you everything. We are all partners in a plot, to kill Aizen, that's been going on for the past six years.

Unohana: Six years? I understand that is possible for you, but how could have Captain Kuchiki have hidden his involvement for six years?

Ichigo: Yeah, it's a little hard to believe, but it's true. We communicated using human technology, so Captain Kuchiki could communicate with us without appearing suspicious. The Hogyoku is the thing that could have guaranteed Aizen's victory.

Unohana: So you're saying that his victory is already assured.

Ichigo: It would be, if he actually had it. You see, months ago, the Hogyoku was hidden within Rukia Kuchiki's soul as a way of permanently sealing it away. Aizen, posing as Central 46, ordered her execution so that he may obtain the Hogyoku, but we got to her first. We switched the Hogyoku in her soul with a fake. The real Hogyoku has been destroyed completely.

Unohana: I don't believe this…Even we've not known for so long, but you caught wind of Aizen's plans, predicted his moves, countered them properly, and devised a winning plan like this…How is it possible?

Ichigo: Well, it is possible. My father is Isshin Kurosaki. He was an excellent tactician and strategist, but did not showcase his talents much. 20 years ago, he left of his own accord to marry a human woman-my mother. After her death, Isshin realised that Aizen was responsible, and that he was on the move. So he decided to stop him. He and our partners are already in the human world, in the town's replica. There, we will put an end to this war. There, we will kill Aizen.

Unohana was amazed by this information, and did not press further. Soon, they reached the human world. Ichigo jumped out of the garganta, activating his bankai as he did so. As it turned out, the fights with the Espada had ended, and Tosen and Ichimaru had already been killed, or at least incapacitated by the Captains. Aizen was the only one there who wasn't from the Gotei-13, but, even so, he was smiling confidently.

Aizen: Ah, looks like our young substitute is here. And I see you brought your friends, two captains, and a former Espada with you. Ready to watch your town burn to ashes, Kurosaki?

Ichigo: Are you prepared to die just yet, Aizen?

Aizen: Are you really so confident that you can beat me, just because you have those new allies of yours? Look how easily I defeated all the captains here, even the almighty commander, in mere seconds!

Ichigo: You still have your limits Aizen. Tell me though; what did you do with the Hogyoku, anyway?

Aizen: Oh, the Hogyoku? Why would you ask that? It's in my throne room right now. I don't exactly need it anymore. I win here, and I become a God. I have no need to recreate my army.

Ichigo: That's a blatant lie. I can feel the Hogyoku's reiatsu. You attached it to your chest, thinking that it can make you more powerful.

Aizen: How did you know that?

Ichigo: I know everything. How you pulled the wool over the Shinigamis' eyes for over a hundred years, how you sent that hollow to kill my mother, how you tried to mess with my life, as well as those of my friends. Well, let me tell you something else that you probably don't know-that Hogyoku is a fake. Sure, it has the power to make hybrids of Shinigami and hollows, but that's as far as it goes. It needs a power source, as it decays without one. Now, you are that power source. You've just weakened yourself by attaching it to your body.

Aizen: It can't be…!

At that moment, another voice called out,"It's possible, and, it's true."

Ryuken Ishida and Isshin Kurosaki stepped out from behind a building and faced Aizen.

Isshin: It ends here, Aizen. You shall never realize your dream of becoming a God.

And with that, Isshin, Ichigo, Ryuken, Byakuya and Nel rushed Aizen, at full power.

Byakuya: Bankai. Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

Nel: Declare, Gamuza!

Ryuken decided to fight close quarters, using a Seele Schneider to absorb Aizen's spiritual energy.

Aizen: Damn you all! I will never be defeated! I, who fooled the Gotei-13 for more than a century, shall never be defeated!

While he was ranting, he felt a sharp pain in his legs. Looking down in shock, he found that one of his legs had been run through by a small javelin made of ice, and the other hit by a bright blue arrow.

Tatsuki and Uryu had been inside Byakuya's Senkei formation, unseen by Aizen.

Aizen: Damn you!

Tatsuki formed another longer javelin, and Uryu activated a Seele Schneider. They jumped up to Aizen's level and attacked him. While Aizen turned around to deal with them, Byakuya ran his shoulder blade through with a Senkei blade. Seeing no other choice, Aizen held out his blade.

Aizen: Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu!

The blade started to glow brightly, but luckily, before it shattered and exposed everyone to its hypnotic effects, Ichigo kicked it out of his hands.

Aizen: Ahh! My blade! You bastards!

Ichigo: _Owari da, Aizen._

A Senkei blade, Nel's javelin, Tatsuki's ice javelin, and two Seele Schneiders pierced the weakened Aizen's body deeply. Ichigo and Isshin then struck the death blow. The black and silver blades went right through the twisted heart of the evil man. Aizen Sosuke was no more.

A week after the battle of Karakura Town 

Ichigo (writing in his diary): It's been 7 days since we won the war. I'm satisfied with the result. Mother has been avenged, and everybody is now safe to live out their lives the way they want to. The fake town has been sent back to Soul Society, and the real town has been put back in its place in the real world.

I visited our school in the town before it was sent back to the real world, and was surprised to find Keigo, Mizuiro and the others, even Miss Ochi. Somehow, they knew of what happened. It seemed like someone from the Gotei-13 had informed them. Now, Tatsuki, Ishida and I were class heroes. More than that, everybody now looks at our group like we're heroes, even captains of the Gotei-13.

Captain Commander Yamamoto had been killed during the war. No, he had not been killed-it's more accurate to say that he had chosen to sacrifice himself to stop Aizen. His sacrifice had been what bought us time to arrive and defeat Aizen.

After mourning the passed hero, the selection process for the new Captain Commander began, and it was decided that Shunsui Kyouraku was the most suited to lead. Captain Unohana would have been chosen instead, but she did not want to leave Division 4, so Captain Kyouraku reluctantly assumed the position of Captain Commander of the Gotei-13. Since then, he has become a more serious worker, and has brought about sweeping changes that his predecessor would have been unwilling to make.

For her actions, Nel was given an official recognition as a war hero, and an honorary representative of Soul Society. The same was done for the Ishidas. The Shinigami even officially gave them an apology for the Quincy wars, acknowledging that the blame should be theirs, and not the Quincies'.

As a further "token of goodwill", Kurotsuchi Mayuri, whose experiments so far had not been performed with permission from above, was thrown back into the Maggots' Nest, for the same crime he had been originally thrown inside for.

Kisuke Urahara was reinstated as the Captain of the Twelfth Division, for his actions in helping the Shinigami in the war. His past deeds were overlooked, and it was recognized that it was Aizen, not he, who had conducted hollowfication experiments 100 years ago.

The Vizards were also recognized as innocent victims, and Soul Society has decided to stop seeing them as enemies. Now, the captains are trying to bring them back to the Gotei-13 to fill the gap left by the three traitor captains, as well as the captain commander himself.

All the other captains have survived. Ukitake somehow pulled through even with the really bad injury inflicted on him. Dad and I were offered Captain Ranks. Dad declined his, politely. I haven't made my position clear to the Captains yet.

But now, is that really what I want? Do I really want to lead a squad, leaving behind my life in the human world? Thinking about it, the answer is negative. In the real world, I have my father, Karin and Yuzu. I have Tatsuki and Uryu. I have Yin. How could I leave all that behind and join the world of the dead as a leader?

My mind is made up. I'll see the commander today and inform him.

On the way to the first division headquarters

Rukia: Ichigo!

Ichigo: Rukia? Hey what's going on?

Rukia: Oh, nothing on my end. So? Where are you going? You're going to accept that Captain's rank, aren't you? Captain Ukitake might be retiring soon, I wonder if the Commander will reserve that position for you…

Ichigo: Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not going to accept.

Rukia: If not the thirteenth, then I'm sure Division 5 will be more than happy to welcome- Wait, what? You're rejecting the offer?

Ichigo: I'm still a living human, and my family and those close to my heart are all there. How can I leave all that behind to accept a high post here?

Rukia stopped and stared at him in shock. Ichigo bid her goodbye and left.

Division 1 

Commander Kyouraku: Well, good to see you again, Ichigo! I hope you've come to a decision regarding becoming a Captain.

Ichigo: Yes, commander, I certainly have. My apologies, but I have to decline. I have a family and precious friends in the living world. I have no intention of leaving their side, not until I die a human's death, at least. However, having said that, I will not be completely dropping my identity as a Shinigami. I will remain active in Karakura town, cleansing hollows there and sending spirits to the afterlife.

Kyouraku: Well, I really wanted you to accept this offer, but I can't say I never expected what you just said to me. Very well. I shall honour your wishes, Ichigo. Have a good, fruitful life, lived with your loved ones.

Ichigo: Thank you very much, Commander.

And with that, Ichigo left to return to the living world by himself, as he had asked everyone else to leave before him. Everyone was treating him like a big shot hero, trying to get his favour, whereas all he wanted was to was to be anonymous once again and to see his loved ones.

In the living world 

Ichigo returned home. Yin opened the door, as it was rather late, and seeing who it was, embraced him.

Yin: Welcome back.

Ichigo: Thanks Yin. It's good to be back.

Then, Karin and Yuzu, woken up, came downstairs from their room. Their eyes widened upon seeing their brother. Shouting his name, they went up to him and hugged him tight. Isshin had also woken up, and he came down and warmly embraced his son.

Isshin: Welcome back, Ichigo.

Ichigo: Thanks, dad. I refused the captain's rank.

Isshin: I thought so. It was a good choice, son. I don't think Karin Yuzu and Yin would have been very happy to see you in Soul Society and away from home for so long.

Ichigo: Yeah, I wouldn't have been very happy either. After all we've done, I want anonymity again. I'm no hero.

The family laughed and went off to sleep.

The next day at school 

Ms Ochi: Well, I'm surprised our resident heroes have come to school today. After all you've been through, a few days of leave never hurt…

Ichigo: We're fine. Besides, don't spread our story anywhere outside this classroom.

Keigo: Why not? It's such an awesome story…

Ichigo: People will think you're insane, Keigo.

Keigo: Oh…

And thus went the day at school. Ichigo reflected that he had become a lot happier since the day he killed Aizen. The 17th of July soon came, and Ichigo and his family, along with Yin, visited his mother's grave.

Ichigo placed a bouquet of roses on the gravestone and closed his eyes.

Ichigo (in his thoughts): On this day 7 years ago, I made the choice to protect those close to me by accepting power. But still I was unable to protect you that day. I hope that by ending Aizen's life I have atoned for that sin of mine. Mother, watch over us. Guide us in our lives, driving us to make the right choices, taking care of one another, and protecting our loved ones. I will definitely not let your death be in vain. I will live my life to the fullest, and be what you've always wanted me to be. Until next time, _Sayonara, Okaa-san. _

_Owari _

And thus ends _Cruel to be Kind_. For those wondering, "_Owari da" _ means "It's over" and "_Sayonara, Okaa-san"_ means, "farewell, mother".

Thank you all for your reviews, and for supporting me through this story. I hope you will like the sequel I planned, and I hope you will take the first step by voting on the poll I put up. Until next time, this is TsukiakariNoMichi signing out.


	14. Important Note

Important Notice

To all of you who have followed this story so far, you have my thanks for reading my work, and for all the reviews, and for adding this story to your favourites list. However, for better or for worse, I am personally dissatisfied with this story, as many of the elements in it could be improved upon. And therefore, I decided to rewrite this story.

The rewritten version (I'm calling it _Black Moon Rising_) is already into its fifth chapter right now. This story (_Cruel to be Kind_) is the original version of _Black Moon Rising_, and so you all should have been the first to be notified of this change. I apologise for not notifying all of you until this stage, when _Black Moon Rising_ is already several chapters and more than a month old. In fact, I was considering not posting this author's note, then I decided that it was, in a way, my duty to inform all of you who have supported me until now. Despite the delay, I hope you'll try reading _Black Moon Rising_, essentially the better version of this story.

Once again, thank you all for the support you've shown, and I hope you'll continue reading the work that I publish to .

TsukiakariNoMichi


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